tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54486572015-03-21T20:20:50.780+01:00Mystical PoliticsJewish mysticism, contemporary politics, and personal musingsRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.comBlogger1594125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-66614181154780737002015-03-17T20:14:00.002+01:002015-03-17T20:14:45.200+01:00Election Day in IsraelIt's just after 9 pm in Israel, and when the polls close at 10:00 pm, we'll get news about the exit polls. I'm starting to get nervous.<br /><br />I went on a pleasant tiyul (walking trip) today with people from the Zion synagogue in Jerusalem. Some photos from today:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XC4vxBYpscc/VQg45t-VVdI/AAAAAAAAPVI/S3nYtQwbgCE/s1600/20150317_113340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XC4vxBYpscc/VQg45t-VVdI/AAAAAAAAPVI/S3nYtQwbgCE/s1600/20150317_113340.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Menorah in front of the Knesset.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztoD3cvdIi0/VQg-Uu7csDI/AAAAAAAAPXw/7DTbI-NjhAo/s1600/20150317_132240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztoD3cvdIi0/VQg-Uu7csDI/AAAAAAAAPXw/7DTbI-NjhAo/s1600/20150317_132240.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rakefot (cyclamens) in the Valley of the Cross.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDnKDAHKZWE/VQhBMSBBbRI/AAAAAAAAPZU/1nizJsdc26M/s1600/20150317_151814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDnKDAHKZWE/VQhBMSBBbRI/AAAAAAAAPZU/1nizJsdc26M/s1600/20150317_151814.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtyard of the Monastery of the Cross.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q4EHnp-qvI/VQhF_vhizkI/AAAAAAAAPcs/DEKdn8sRZA8/s1600/20150317_153441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q4EHnp-qvI/VQhF_vhizkI/AAAAAAAAPcs/DEKdn8sRZA8/s1600/20150317_153441.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The all-seeing eye, above one of the doorways of the monastery.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1pP4RcfCeQ/VQh3gQDwE5I/AAAAAAAAPjo/gl8gQKAD0dI/s1600/20150317_184546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1pP4RcfCeQ/VQh3gQDwE5I/AAAAAAAAPjo/gl8gQKAD0dI/s1600/20150317_184546.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Election posters for Isaac Herzog and the Zionist Camp.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xkp5JWyRVyI/VQh2hvWSk2I/AAAAAAAAPjo/-rHYLKAnERE/s1600/20150317_184628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xkp5JWyRVyI/VQh2hvWSk2I/AAAAAAAAPjo/-rHYLKAnERE/s1600/20150317_184628.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Election posters for the Likud.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tpe7lAhboP4/VQh2uVMc1EI/AAAAAAAAPjo/6BU5dkux3o8/s1600/20150317_184655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tpe7lAhboP4/VQh2uVMc1EI/AAAAAAAAPjo/6BU5dkux3o8/s1600/20150317_184655.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Binyamin Netanyahu in a Likud election poster.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-9056523006074295382015-03-10T21:32:00.001+01:002015-03-10T22:07:46.581+01:00The New York Times and Antisemitism TodayWhenever I see an article in the New York Times that mentions Israel or Jews in any way, and comments for the article are open, I feel dismay, because I know that many commenters will seize this opportunity to write antisemitic responses. The same is true of the Washington Post (I think it's worse there). Why do the Times, or the Post, or many other online publications not moderate the comment sections in an effective way to keep out antisemitism? (By the way, this is also true of the Forward, and of the English editions of Haaretz and Ynet - I really don't understand why they don't erase such comments). Often one can even see antisemitic remarks in comments on articles that have nothing to do with Israel or Jews.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iZtdtbx4_8A/VP9UiSa_kgI/AAAAAAAAPD0/a-kTeoAQsT4/s1600/cohen-circular-thumbLarge-v3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iZtdtbx4_8A/VP9UiSa_kgI/AAAAAAAAPD0/a-kTeoAQsT4/s1600/cohen-circular-thumbLarge-v3.jpg" /></a>It's clear (to me, at least), that the lack of moderation of antisemitic comments is an important way that antisemitism is being spread today. Vile ideas that should have buried with the Nazis are now published on the websites of respected, leading newspapers and magazines, with no criticism or condemnation ever coming from the writers or editors of these news sources. If David Duke or Louis Farrakhan wanted to publish an op-ed in the New York Times denouncing the Jews, the Times would never print it. Why do they let equivalent words remain in the comments sections?<br /><br />This issue came up for me today because of a column by Roger Cohen (pictured left). It is not political. It has nothing to do with Israel or with the negotiations with Iran.<br /><br />Roger Cohen writes movingly today about the book&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/opinion/roger-cohen-where-the-road-from-auschwitz-ends.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=c-column-top-span-region&amp;region=c-column-top-span-region&amp;WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region">Where the Road From Auschwitz Ends</a>. He ends his essay with these words:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Written with tender precision, “A Brief Stop on the Road From Auschwitz,” recently published in the United States, is the most powerful account I have read of the other death — the death after the camps, the death from damage that proves insuperable, the death that in this case comes 15 years later, in 1960, after electroshock treatment, in a Swedish lake beside a mental hospital. The project was indeed brief.</blockquote>The entire essay is about David Rosenberg, the father of the author, Goran Rosenberg. Contemporary politics are not mentioned. Cohen says nothing about the state of Israel.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Yet among the 109 comments currently posted to the article, quite a few take the opportunity to attack Israel and Jews for not learning the lesson of the Holocaust.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>One writer says:&nbsp;</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">A touching recount of the lingering wounds that must accompany such trauma. Perhaps someday an articulate Palestinian refugee will pen a book describing the enduring psychological and physical wounds the he or she suffered in Israeli prisons or in the aftermath of the cluster bombings of schools and hospitals, or in observing the intentional demolition of his family's home by Israeli soldiers whilst his parents were still inside.</blockquote>Another writer castigates the United States, taking Sweden as an example to be followed (because it was neutral during WWII):<br /><div><blockquote class="tr_bq">Death comes to us all, and is sometimes a merciful end to suffering. Nothing says we must all be so "heroic" and to slough off the worst torture humans can devise for us.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Sweden was "neutral" in WWII, not because that's what they all wanted. Some, wealthy industrialists, supported Hitler the workers supported his enemies. Swedes opted for a course that would not tear their country apart irreparably. America could learn from that.&nbsp;BTW, it's Göran and Södertalje. Let's try to end America's disdain for foreign languages and our assumption that they don't matter.</blockquote><div>Another writer complains that we always hear about the Jews at Auschwitz - how about the non-Jews?&nbsp;</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">There are so many stories of Jews who were confined in Auschwitz. Such a terrible place for everyone confined there. And so many confined there were non-Jews whose stories have never been told. Why?</blockquote></div>Another writer, thank goodness, recognizes the viciousness of such comments: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Reading the bitter denunciations of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu and Jews (yes, Jews) that appear each day in large numbers among reader comments in this newspaper, I can't help but think that the day when Holocaust memoirs, no matter how beautifully written or evocative of the damage done to the Jewish people during and after the Hitler-time, can have much, if any, real influence or impact is past.</blockquote>This writer received the following response, from another person who thinks that Jews didn't learn the correct lesson from the Holocaust:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">It is wrong for you and others to equate my condemnation of the practices of the State of Israel with antisemitism. I am not against Jews, or the existence of the State of Israel. I am against the barbaric treatment of the Palestinians by the State of Israel. It is easy and morally dishonest to brush aside the protests against the actions of the State of Israel as being anti-Jew. The Holocaust is no excuse to treat the Palestinians the way Israel does.</blockquote>Another response is even more revolting. This author has failed to comprehend that the arrow of time points only one way:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Holocaust will never be adequate justification for Israel's behavior, today. If fact, that behavior besmirches the very memory of that evil time.</blockquote>Whatever the state of Israel does today cannot "besmirch" the memory of the Holocaust, since the state was founded after the Holocaust.<br /><br />This writer is confused, and comes close to equating the crimes of the Nazis against the Jews with the actions of the IDF:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I am not Jewish, but the stories of the Holocaust move me to tears and anger. It doesn't matter how many stories of I've heard- each is different, yet each is painfully the same. I feel these same emotions for every story I hear of Palestinian suffering - lives lost, despair and brutality of the IDF. Mr. Netanyahu has it exactly wrong. By showing compassion towards their enemy will Israel keep the Holocaust flame lit. Mr. Netanyahu, himself, diminishes the Holocaust by using it as a defense for the murder of thousands of civilians who pose no real danger and whose only crime is being stuck in an open air prison and not being Jewish.</blockquote>Another righteous soul writes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">From 1950 to 1962 I attended the Fieldston branch of the Ethical Culture Schools which was about 95% Jewish. We even had mandatory Ethics Class taught by a Holocaust Survivor. "Never Again" was a part of life. Being non Jewish and German on my fathers side I couldn't help but feel some guilt even though my father's family had left Germany over 80 years before the rise of Hitler.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Reading this column I couldn't help but think about how years from now my children or grandchildren will be reading about the personal damage caused by the oppression and dehumanization of despised minority. It seems even worse to me that now it is the Jews "Mowing the grass" as they call dropping bombs on Gaza, and not even allowing students to leave to study in America, Israel's biggest supporter.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">I always thought "Never Again" was supposed to apply to all oppressed peoples. Obviously I was wrong, at least when we are talking about Israel.</blockquote>He also belongs to the club of those who think that "the Jews" failed to learn the lesson of the Holocaust.<br /><br />One response to him: "If rockets would be falling on your head or your relatives dying in suicide bombing attacks you would not be comparing Israel to Nazis. Thanks to people like you 'Never Again' will never work."<br /><br />Another person is annoyed that the tour he took of Auschwitz did not devote enough attention to the death of Maximilian Kolbe:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The holocaust was a terrible thing but I was very disappointed when I visited Auschwitz with a tour group and there was not one mention of St. Maximilian Kolbe who volunteered to die in order to save a Jewish man with a family. The holocaust was horrific but it was not only Jews who were murdered even though they were the majority.<br /><br />They had St. Koble's cell on display with his religious artifacts and I do think it should have been pointed out to our group. He was a courageous man who should have been honored.</blockquote>Any sentence that starts out "The holocaust was a terrible thing but...." does not end in a good way. As a respondent commented, Jews were the overwhelming majority of those killed at Auschwitz.<br /><br />A writer from France accuses Roger Cohen of writing about the Holocaust because Israel is once again in the news.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I&nbsp;have nothing against keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, so that "never again" remains front and centre. But I do have a problem with the Holocaust memory being abused for political gain. It seems every time Israel gets itself into hot water, there is a surge in Holocaust writings in the press. Mr. Cohen should not confuse our pledge of "never again" with our acceptance of Israel's transgressions.</blockquote>As I said before, Cohen didn't mention anything about Israel in his essay - this conspiracy exists only in the mind of the author. Fortunately, someone else responded:&nbsp;"Trust me, Mr. Cohen is not an apologist for Israel; this essay has nothing to do with Israel's 'being in hot water.' It is about the half-life left to most survivors." <br /><br />Another commenter, bizarrely, seems to think that Cohen is opposed to the US negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Although he claims to be an avid reader of Cohen, he doesn't seem to have understood what he said.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I have been an avid reader of Mr. Cohen for quite a long time. But I was aware of the Holocaust before I read one of his column. In fact, as a Vietnam veteran. I actually witnessed a Holocaust many Americans wish to forget about or remain in denial about, namely, how we attempted to commit genocide against the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. I'm still waiting for that column from Mr. Cohen. But Mr. Cohen fails the crucial test to me for being a true and credible public intellectual, that is, using a tragedy merely to manipulate the readers rather than guiding them on the search for the truth. And to be really blunt with you, I grew up in what can only be termed an anti-Semitic family of origin. So I have always been quite sensitive to that issue having grown up around that virus when I criticize one of Mr. Cohen's column. But we have to give - at least for now - diplomacy a chance in our negotiations with Iran. But what really disturbs me about Mr. Cohen's latest column really isn't what he wrote about, it's about what he avoids writing about. That was my main point. He's being intellectually dishonest. And that debases his currency as a public intellectual. But that is his choice.</blockquote>Another writer thinks that Cohen wrote this column about a man who survived the Holocaust in order to deceive his readers about Israel. He accuses him of using the "Auschwitz card." This is among the most vile comments on this article.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This deeply biased commentary should not be left unrefuted. The Palestinians had no role in what Europeans did to the Jews among them, and owe no one anything. Indeed, they are the inhabitants and owners of Palestine and have been for thousands of years. European Jews forced their way onto the land, with the connivance of British imperialists and expelled the Palestinians at gunpoint or worse. They have ever right to our support in their fight to regain at least some of their land. At a minimum we should resist those among us who would give yet more weapons and money to help the Israelis in their oppression of Palestine.<br /><br />Cohen knows this only too well and writes about it, but can not refrain from playing the Auschwitz card. Decent Americans should not be taken in by it.</blockquote>And finally, another response (confused, badly written, and conspiracy theory ridden) that traffics in antisemitic tropes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Why is the media not also conducting, distract our attention from contemporary genocides -out sourcing of US jobs, flood of immigrants used as the functional equivalent of US slaves etc, with almost daily rehashes of the "Second Holocaust" that the east European countries and Russia conducted before, during and after WWII that killed another 6 million Jews? Could it be, that again distraction is the fundamental Zionist part of the 1% reason for the continual avalanche of "never forgetting" the Nazis, while to "remember" the radical east European and Russian pogroms and gulag Holocaust would anger potential customers for high profit margin junk, and threaten access to all that now cheap East European labor. Seems it really is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!</blockquote>The Nazis killed 6 million Jews; there was no "Second Holocaust" by the Russians and Eastern European countries that killed another 6 million. What is the "fundamentalist Zionist part of the 1% reason, etc."? Why is the New York Times permitting the publication of such an insane piece of nonsense?Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-15254491990720980042015-03-07T22:50:00.000+01:002015-03-07T22:50:02.006+01:00"Walking while Jewish" in EuropeAn article from the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2964984/Fight-Jewish-scum-Shocking-anti-Semitism-streets-BRITAIN-Jewish-journalist-spat-abused-stalked-happens-Copenhagen.html">Daily Mail</a> presents several instances of people "walking while Jewish" through various European cities - all men wearing <i>kippot</i>.<br /><br />In Bradford and Manchester, British journalist Jonathan Kalmus encountered antisemitic jeers and insults, and one person followed him and took pictures of him.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">He writes: "'You Jew' was the anti-Semitic scream which came from a passing car. My shaken wife tried to explain it away to my seven-year-old daughter as a very large sneeze. They were simply playing in a local park in Manchester a few weeks ago when the incident ripped through what should have been a peaceful and wholesome time for any mother and child.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"'Fight the Jewish scum' and 'Jew, Jew, Jew... Run', were the more vicious threats hurled at me in the past few days, however, when I decided to secretly film and find out whether 'Jew-hatred' really is alive and kicking on British streets."</blockquote>The article also reports on similar walks; in Paris, by Israeli journalist Zvika Klein, who was a victim of harassment, threats, and spitting; in Copenhagen, where Omar Shargawi, an award-winning Palestinian-Danish documentary maker, put on a kippah - for the most part he was not harassed except when someone shouted "F**k you little Jew"; in Rome Ben Katz was greeted in a friendly fashion by some people who said "Shalom" or "Shabbat Shalom" to him, but he was also cursed at by right-wing hoodlums; in Berlin Adam Goldman was undisturbed, except when some teenagers "turned their heads and pointed as if they couldn't get over the fact that there was a real living Jew standing close to them but that is just ignorant teenagers"; and finally in Stockholm, Simon Moser rode the subway and got no reaction whatsoever from people who saw him.<br /><br />In Germany I've felt quite apprehensive about wear a star of David on a necklace, but perhaps I shouldn't be so nervous about it. It seems like I'd get a far more hostile response in other parts of Europe.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-92022388931757656012015-03-03T23:26:00.000+01:002015-03-03T23:26:46.830+01:00A visit to the Eshta'ol Forest - Cyclamens and Poppies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLZeKUtxaK8/VPLg5kJcmjI/AAAAAAAAO2o/4G9rt594B8M/s1600/20150228_161727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RLZeKUtxaK8/VPLg5kJcmjI/AAAAAAAAO2o/4G9rt594B8M/s1600/20150228_161727.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A couple of days ago, a friend and I went in search of a calm, natural place to spend a couple of hours, and we found the Eshta'ol Forest, next to Ta'oz, in the Judean foothills.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-71AG-gxR4sg/VPYrN3q0tKI/AAAAAAAAO4U/nytyg-b5YWs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-03-03%2Bat%2B11.42.43%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-71AG-gxR4sg/VPYrN3q0tKI/AAAAAAAAO4U/nytyg-b5YWs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-03-03%2Bat%2B11.42.43%2BPM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-hss0QuglzGY%2FVPLgyo2vJ-I%2FAAAAAAAAO2Q%2F2uKpIZ8bT-c%2Fs1600%2F20150228_161609.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hss0QuglzGY/VPLgyo2vJ-I/AAAAAAAAO2Q/2uKpIZ8bT-c/s1600/20150228_161609.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a>We first found a strange lookout tower, the Harel Lookout Point. It turns out that this tower was first constructed during the 1948 war. A sign nearby reads: "The building that served until 1948 as Beit Jit's school stood on this spot. During the work on the Burma Road, the site was a Seventh Brigade outpost that guarded the detour. Today it is the site of a lookout tower for KKL forest rangers and the starting point for a trip along the marked section of the Burma Road." The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Road_(Israel)">Burma Road </a>was built as an alternative route to the regular road to Jerusalem, which was very dangerous to Jewish travel because Arab fighters regularly shot at and ambushed the Jewish convoys. Because the road was nearly blockaded, Jerusalem was cut off from supplies from other parts of the country. The Burma Road enabled convoys to reach the Jewish parts of Jerusalem. The second map below is taken from Wikipedia Commons and shows the state of fighting in the area on June 11, 1948. It also shows the area of the Burma Road ("Route de Birmanie") and where the Seventh Brigade was stationed.As you can see, almost all of the villages were inhabited by Palestinian Arabs, &nbsp;The villages were conquered and destroyed by the Haganah during the the war.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-09_5INtF7iA/VPYukJr0PaI/AAAAAAAAO4g/M8AgAJamsx8/s1600/Latroun_(11_juin).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-09_5INtF7iA/VPYukJr0PaI/AAAAAAAAO4g/M8AgAJamsx8/s1600/Latroun_(11_juin).png" height="413" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We walked behind the lookout tower and found a short trail that went into the woods, and found a beautiful site - fields full of cyclamens (called <i>rakafet</i>&nbsp;in Hebrew) interspersed with the occasional red poppy. There were other pretty flowers as well, but I don't know what they're called.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U5E-2MSNmvw/VPLgZDzvGiI/AAAAAAAAO08/0QT8ALpETC4/s1600/20150228_160841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U5E-2MSNmvw/VPLgZDzvGiI/AAAAAAAAO08/0QT8ALpETC4/s1600/20150228_160841.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEeruomH_Hg/VPLgCDN26lI/AAAAAAAAOzE/RDKkYJyX22Q/s1600/20150228_160310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEeruomH_Hg/VPLgCDN26lI/AAAAAAAAOzE/RDKkYJyX22Q/s1600/20150228_160310.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ywGtysOr7WI/VPLgGgy2udI/AAAAAAAAOzc/-EtDJ64dHCs/s1600/20150228_160414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ywGtysOr7WI/VPLgGgy2udI/AAAAAAAAOzc/-EtDJ64dHCs/s1600/20150228_160414.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eGtsfydgSGM/VPLgRnQjIUI/AAAAAAAAO0M/gOEbgrRKXzE/s1600/20150228_160615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eGtsfydgSGM/VPLgRnQjIUI/AAAAAAAAO0M/gOEbgrRKXzE/s1600/20150228_160615.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2oNaUA--ipY/VPLgLgjKKcI/AAAAAAAAOz0/_WqUwjVrXzE/s1600/20150228_160504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2oNaUA--ipY/VPLgLgjKKcI/AAAAAAAAOz0/_WqUwjVrXzE/s1600/20150228_160504.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b0xwGwo4S3U/VPLgIqMxoiI/AAAAAAAAOzo/DvIxri6koLc/s1600/20150228_160428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b0xwGwo4S3U/VPLgIqMxoiI/AAAAAAAAOzo/DvIxri6koLc/s1600/20150228_160428.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_P9hSSKA7k/VPLgTvR9HSI/AAAAAAAAO0Y/EcAe8ZNYpn8/s1600/20150228_160704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_P9hSSKA7k/VPLgTvR9HSI/AAAAAAAAO0Y/EcAe8ZNYpn8/s1600/20150228_160704.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsuSI_aA3MI/VPLgVbwtl-I/AAAAAAAAO0k/78M06Wz9lYY/s1600/20150228_160713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsuSI_aA3MI/VPLgVbwtl-I/AAAAAAAAO0k/78M06Wz9lYY/s1600/20150228_160713.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H-I_OlHM5KM/VPLgXLc245I/AAAAAAAAO0w/jZdOG5LNcZo/s1600/20150228_160759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H-I_OlHM5KM/VPLgXLc245I/AAAAAAAAO0w/jZdOG5LNcZo/s1600/20150228_160759.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEnkC1mP4Nw/VPLgmnHbqwI/AAAAAAAAO1g/NhhGnzrMXNQ/s1600/20150228_161025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEnkC1mP4Nw/VPLgmnHbqwI/AAAAAAAAO1g/NhhGnzrMXNQ/s1600/20150228_161025.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5ma8ygwwSL8/VPLghN-0wCI/AAAAAAAAO1U/iKdr4T_Mv64/s1600/20150228_160941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5ma8ygwwSL8/VPLghN-0wCI/AAAAAAAAO1U/iKdr4T_Mv64/s1600/20150228_160941.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jrqWO9nfeuE/VPLgcyjsZFI/AAAAAAAAO1I/URNGk5wAVM0/s1600/20150228_160854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jrqWO9nfeuE/VPLgcyjsZFI/AAAAAAAAO1I/URNGk5wAVM0/s1600/20150228_160854.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oztXlie__qQ/VPLgtbc84vI/AAAAAAAAO14/17fsMs5EnMY/s1600/20150228_161157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oztXlie__qQ/VPLgtbc84vI/AAAAAAAAO14/17fsMs5EnMY/s1600/20150228_161157.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-22955670305231119412015-03-03T22:31:00.002+01:002015-03-03T22:31:59.533+01:00An Assyrian winged being<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Today, ancient Assyrian statues were destroyed. But many more still remain, and the past will never be whitewashed. <a href="http://t.co/NbwbzX9m46">pic.twitter.com/NbwbzX9m46</a><br />— Ancient Civilisation (@AncientPast) <a href="https://twitter.com/AncientPast/status/571071548746018816">February 26, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-856261786626311442015-02-26T00:42:00.001+01:002015-02-26T00:43:29.423+01:00Study: Anti-Semitism on the Rise at U.S. Colleges<div class="tr_bq"><a href="http://tabletmag.com/scroll/189243/study-anti-semitism-on-the-rise-at-u-s-colleges">Tablet Magazine</a>&nbsp;reports on an interesting new survey on the experiences of Jewish students of antisemitism at American colleges.</div><blockquote>A new <a href="http://brandeiscenter.com/publications/research_articles/ldb_trinity_college_report">study</a> from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Trinity College found that anti-Semitism is on the rise on U.S. college campuses. Their National Demographic Survey of American Jewish College Students polled 1,157 students about their campus experience, and found that 44 to 73 percent, with an average of 54 percent, reported experiencing anti-Semitism during the first six months of the 2013-2014 academic year.</blockquote><blockquote>The study found that anti-Semitism pervades all campuses, not just ones with strong anti-Israel activism or in parts of the country where Jews are a smaller minority.<br /><br />There also appears to have been a shift in who is experiencing anti-Semitism on campus. While Orthodox men, who are visibly identifiable as Jewish, had previously been the most likely target of anti-Semitism, the study found that students who identify as Conservative or Reform were reporting incidents most often (as were participants in Jewish campus organizations).<br /><br />Jewish women feel far more at risk on campus, with 59 percent (as opposed to 51 percent of men) reporting witnessing bigotry firsthand.<br /><br />The rise of anti-Semitism <a href="http://tabletmag.com/scroll/188332/majority-of-british-jews-say-they-have-no-future-in-the-uk">internationally</a> in the wake of last summer’s Gaza war has been much discussed. What’s interesting about this study is that it’s based on incidents from the 2013-2014 school year, before the war.</blockquote>The report itself is available at <a href="http://www.brandeiscenter.com/images/uploads/articleuploads/trinity-Anti-Semitism.pdf">Antisemitism Report</a> (pdf).<br /><br />One of the most interesting findings of the survey is that younger Jews report much more exposure to antisemitic incidents than older Jews.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">According to the Pew Research Center’s 2013 Survey of U.S. Jews, anti-Semitism in the U.S. today is a problem mainly facing the younger generation of American Jews. Among Jews aged 18-29 years, 22% reported being called offensive names during 2012. By comparison, 6% of those ages 50-64 years and only 4% of those 65 or older said this happened to them in the past year.</blockquote>When I started teaching I was surprised to discover that some of my Jewish students had encountered forms of antisemitism that I had only read about. They said that at home they had regularly heard people say "Jew (someone) down" (meaning to get something more cheaply), and some had had pennies thrown at them (same idea). At college, mezuzahs on doors had been ripped off, and swastikas had been scrawled on walls. A few reported hearing antisemitic expressions from friends of theirs. A few reported having been asked about whether they had horns. Given what I've heard from my students, I'm not surprised at this report.<br /><br />Incidents like these do not end up in the FBI's statistics on hate crimes, since they don't rise to the level of crimes. But they do make Jewish students feel unsafe, and wondering where they will find the support they need.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-76307787048729366752015-02-20T14:52:00.002+01:002015-02-20T14:52:19.900+01:00Snow in JerusalemI've never been in Jerusalem for a really big snowstorm before, but now I have my own photos of today's snow in Jerusalem. These were taken in my yard (on Elazar ha-Modai St) and then along the way as I walked up and back Emek Refaim St to Super ha-Moshava. I tried to find an open cafe but the only one available was about to close. The report on the radio was that about 30 cm fell in Jerusalem, which is almost a foot of snow.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qnIgyZyDONw/VOb14Otg7xI/AAAAAAAAOr0/MXlWC8jZrl8/s1600/20150220_104335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qnIgyZyDONw/VOb14Otg7xI/AAAAAAAAOr0/MXlWC8jZrl8/s1600/20150220_104335.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyxHAX8_zwc/VOb_tQ02JLI/AAAAAAAAOuo/C4ZBMAAK6M4/s1600/20150220_104353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyxHAX8_zwc/VOb_tQ02JLI/AAAAAAAAOuo/C4ZBMAAK6M4/s1600/20150220_104353.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GD4GXf-U4SQ/VOb6mSYwgZI/AAAAAAAAOsI/4aWQyHlEE6g/s1600/20150220_104359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GD4GXf-U4SQ/VOb6mSYwgZI/AAAAAAAAOsI/4aWQyHlEE6g/s1600/20150220_104359.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eq4YjNNJITI/VOb7dAL-kfI/AAAAAAAAOsg/GpmaxvEFIdo/s1600/20150220_105027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eq4YjNNJITI/VOb7dAL-kfI/AAAAAAAAOsg/GpmaxvEFIdo/s1600/20150220_105027.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xqAJyb71lis/VOb8LYmJdrI/AAAAAAAAOs4/V-vLnt5vEZ8/s1600/20150220_105730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xqAJyb71lis/VOb8LYmJdrI/AAAAAAAAOs4/V-vLnt5vEZ8/s1600/20150220_105730.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oDd6Z9woj3c/VOb9ZmaKQ8I/AAAAAAAAOtc/gUP4_WbxPy0/s1600/20150220_105816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oDd6Z9woj3c/VOb9ZmaKQ8I/AAAAAAAAOtc/gUP4_WbxPy0/s1600/20150220_105816.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GZlR0vDOGe4/VOb9vygJaqI/AAAAAAAAOto/j-VLShFwe7w/s1600/20150220_110127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GZlR0vDOGe4/VOb9vygJaqI/AAAAAAAAOto/j-VLShFwe7w/s1600/20150220_110127.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iXupXPNEeaE/VOb-GrPXByI/AAAAAAAAOt0/uMfsqkVXRBE/s1600/20150220_111210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iXupXPNEeaE/VOb-GrPXByI/AAAAAAAAOt0/uMfsqkVXRBE/s1600/20150220_111210.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWEday2SiCQ/VOb_DXyEcjI/AAAAAAAAOuY/QCJqsfYTf70/s1600/20150220_111317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kWEday2SiCQ/VOb_DXyEcjI/AAAAAAAAOuY/QCJqsfYTf70/s1600/20150220_111317.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fU1CGVGw9w/VOcUFS98BSI/AAAAAAAAOvo/Kjc4m0Pcz0E/s1600/20150220_122937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fU1CGVGw9w/VOcUFS98BSI/AAAAAAAAOvo/Kjc4m0Pcz0E/s1600/20150220_122937.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IjNC5yJrCls/VOcYV9cBM1I/AAAAAAAAOws/NmsO2Wvv1CY/s1600/20150220_123010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IjNC5yJrCls/VOcYV9cBM1I/AAAAAAAAOws/NmsO2Wvv1CY/s1600/20150220_123010.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XSwOkBn1VG8/VOcR0ZgkBMI/AAAAAAAAOvM/RTXNeIDPU-U/s1600/20150220_123206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XSwOkBn1VG8/VOcR0ZgkBMI/AAAAAAAAOvM/RTXNeIDPU-U/s1600/20150220_123206.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m7HFpGaDaeo/VOcWxPinUMI/AAAAAAAAOwQ/l4fSltwgIVU/s1600/20150220_123733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m7HFpGaDaeo/VOcWxPinUMI/AAAAAAAAOwQ/l4fSltwgIVU/s1600/20150220_123733.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cSPdinH6JhE/VOcWAHnCAMI/AAAAAAAAOv4/kmP4-gnfQCk/s1600/20150220_130211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cSPdinH6JhE/VOcWAHnCAMI/AAAAAAAAOv4/kmP4-gnfQCk/s1600/20150220_130211.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-61651735102874211762015-02-20T13:34:00.001+01:002015-02-20T14:48:39.574+01:00The Islamic State (ISIS) and the End of Days<div class="tr_bq">What is ISIS (Daesh) and what does it want?</div><br />Three recently published articles discuss the role that Islamic eschatology (ideas about the end of days) has played in the formation of the goals of Daesh. They also emphasize the fact that Daesh uses the Qur'an and the hadith, and the later writings of Muslim authors, to justify their brutality and murder of Christians, killing and enslavement of Yazidis, and murder of other Muslims whom they consider to be apostates (like Shi'ites).<br /><br />To be clear, all three authors state unequivocally that the vast majority of Muslims reject ISIS and its wholesale brutality and murder. None of them claim that ISIS is "real Islam" or anything like it (as opposed to what anti-Muslim bigots like <a href="http://pamelageller.com/">Pamela Geller</a> would claim). They have written these articles in order to understand what the goals of ISIS are and to suggest ways to fight it. Denying that ISIS (and other Islamist terrorist groups like Al Qaeda) call upon Islamic traditions and interpretations is simply denying reality.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/contributors/asra-q-nomani.html">Asra Q. Nomani</a>&nbsp;and Hala Arafa write on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/20/will-it-take-the-end-of-the-world-for-obama-to-recognize-isis.html">Will It Take The End of the World For Obama To Recognize ISIS?</a><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">At the White House summit on “countering violent extremism,” President Obama declared that violent jihad in the name of Islam isn’t the work of “religious leaders” but rather “terrorists.” American-Muslim leaders, attending the summit, cheered and applauded, later taking selfies in front of the president’s seal.<br /><br />But, as liberal Muslim feminist journalists who reject the vision of the Islamic State, we can say that the Islamic State, al Qaeda and the alphabet soup of Islamic militant groups, like HUM (Harkut-ul Mujahideen) and LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), rely very much on the scholarship of “religious leaders,” from Ibn Tamiyyah in the 14th century to Sayyid Qutb in the 20th century, who very much have credibility and authority among too many Muslims as “religious leaders.”....&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">After spending about 200 hours combined over the last few weeks, analyzing every word and symbol in the burning video of the Jordanian Air Force pilot and the execution video of the Coptic Christians, we can tell you that both videos reveal Islamic State strategists, propagandists and recruiters are very much grounded in a logical interpretation of the Quran, the hadith, or <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/inside-the-symbols-and-psychology-the-islamic-state">sayings and traditions of the prophet Muhammad, and fatwa, or religious rulings</a>.<br /><br />They are also hell-bent on one mission: Chasing the apocalypse, according to Islamic eschatology—the study of end of the world.<br /><br />Doing a verbal tap-dance around Islamic theology and extremism, even calling it “whatever ideology,” Obama and his policy team have it completely wrong. We have to own the issue of extremist Islamic theology in order to defeat it and remove it from our world. We have to name it to tame it.</blockquote>Read the whole article.<br /><br />They have also published another <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/inside-the-symbols-and-psychology-the-islamic-state">article</a> on the symbols of Daesh: "Inside the symbols and psychology of the Islamic State."<br /><br />In the Atlantic, Graeme Wood also just published an excellent article on <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/">What Isis Really Wants</a>.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), follows a distinctive variety of Islam whose beliefs about the path to the Day of Judgment matter to its strategy, and can help the West know its enemy and predict its behavior. Its rise to power is less like the triumph of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (a group whose leaders the Islamic State considers apostates) than like the realization of a dystopian alternate reality in which David Koresh or Jim Jones survived to wield absolute power over not just a few hundred people, but some 8 million....</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Virtually every major decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates, stationery, and coins, “the Prophetic methodology,” which means following the prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn’t actually a religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it. We’ll need to get acquainted with the Islamic State’s intellectual genealogy if we are to react in a way that will not strengthen it, but instead help it self-immolate in its own excessive zeal...</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Denying the holiness of the Koran or the prophecies of Muhammad is straightforward apostasy. But (Abu Musab al-)Zarqawi and the state he spawned take the position that many other acts can remove a Muslim from Islam. These include, in certain cases, selling alcohol or drugs, wearing Western clothes or shaving one’s beard, voting in an election—even for a Muslim candidate—and being lax about calling other people apostates. Being a Shiite, as most Iraqi Arabs are, meets the standard as well, because the Islamic State regards Shiism as innovation, and to innovate on the Koran is to deny its initial perfection. (The Islamic State claims that common Shiite practices, such as worship at the graves of imams and public self-flagellation, have no basis in the Koran or in the example of the Prophet.) That means roughly 200 million Shia are marked for death. So too are the heads of state of every Muslim country, who have elevated man-made law above Sharia by running for office or enforcing laws not made by God.<br /><br />Following takfiri doctrine (i.e., declaring that someone is an apostate), the Islamic State is committed to purifying the world by killing vast numbers of people. The lack of objective reporting from its territory makes the true extent of the slaughter unknowable, but social-media posts from the region suggest that individual executions happen more or less continually, and mass executions every few weeks. Muslim “apostates” are the most common victims. Exempted from automatic execution, it appears, are Christians who do not resist their new government. Baghdadi permits them to live, as long as they pay a special tax, known as the jizya, and acknowledge their subjugation. The Koranic authority for this practice is not in dispute....</blockquote><blockquote>Many mainstream Muslim organizations have gone so far as to say the Islamic State is, in fact, un-Islamic. It is, of course, reassuring to know that the vast majority of Muslims have zero interest in replacing Hollywood movies with public executions as evening entertainment. But Muslims who call the Islamic State un-Islamic are typically, as the Princeton scholar Bernard Haykel, the leading expert on the group’s theology, told me, “embarrassed and politically correct, with a cotton-candy view of their own religion” that neglects “what their religion has historically and legally required.” Many denials of the Islamic State’s religious nature, he said, are rooted in an “interfaith-Christian-nonsense tradition.”</blockquote>Read the whole article.<br /><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-63280391844723282672015-02-10T22:50:00.001+01:002015-02-10T23:13:07.355+01:00"The Awful German Language" by Mark TwainWhile here in Bochum I thought it might be wise to improve my command of the German language. I learned German in high school for four years, and by the end could read fairly sophisticated texts. (I don't know how well I spoke it, however, since I didn't have the opportunity to visit a German-speaking country and talk to people). I didn't take any more German until graduate school, when I took an intensive German reading course in order to pass an exam (Ph.D. students were required to learn both German and French). That helped my reading but not my speaking.<br /><br />When I got to Bochum I had some hope that the German I learned in high school would return, and that I would be able to have simple conversations with people. Unfortunately, this has not happened. I signed up for a German class, and I have remembered the grammar I learned, and some vocabulary, but I still find it hard to get out a simple sentence. It would be very useful to be able to speak better, because I find that many people in Bochum simply don't know any English, or if they do, they're unwilling/unable to speak it.<br /><br />I just read what Mark Twain wrote on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html">The Awful German Language</a>. Well worth a read - funny and accurate!<br /><br />A sample:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white;">There are ten parts of speech, and they are all troublesome. An average sentence, in a German newspaper, is a sublime and impressive curiosity; it occupies a quarter of a column; it contains all the ten parts of speech -- not in regular order, but mixed; it is built mainly of compound words constructed by the writer on the spot, and not to be found in any dictionary -- six or seven words compacted into one, without joint or seam -- that is, without hyphens; it treats of fourteen or fifteen different subjects, each inclosed in a parenthesis of its own, with here and there extra parentheses which reinclose three or four of the minor parentheses, making pens within pens: finally, all the parentheses and reparentheses are massed together between a couple of king-parentheses, one of which is placed in the first line of the majestic sentence and the other in the middle of the last line of it --&nbsp;</span><b style="background-color: white;">after which comes the VERB</b><span style="background-color: white;">, and you find out for the first time what the man has been talking about; and after the verb -- merely by way of ornament, as far as I can make out -- the writer shovels in "</span><b style="background-color: white;">haben sind gewesen gehabt haben geworden sein</b><span style="background-color: white;">," or words to that effect, and the monument is finished. I suppose that this closing hurrah is in the nature of the flourish to a man's signature -- not necessary, but pretty. German books are easy enough to read when you hold them before the looking-glass or stand on your head -- so as to reverse the construction -- but I think that to learn to read and understand a German newspaper is a thing which must always remain an impossibility to a foreigner.</span></blockquote>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-48164091619908049222015-02-09T14:31:00.001+01:002015-02-09T23:39:55.005+01:00Bishop of Guildford bans Stephen Sizer from writing or speaking on Middle East issues<div class="tr_bq"><a href="http://www.cofeguildford.org.uk/whats-on/news/detail/2015/02/09/statement-on-the-revd-stephen-sizer-by-the-bishop-of-guildford">Statement on the Revd Stephen Sizer by the Bishop of Guildford</a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>Sizer has *finally* been prohibited from engaging in any speech, writing, or activities about the Middle East. This includes attending conferences, which I presume include the Christ at the Checkpoint conferences or his regular jaunts to Iran to take part in antisemitic conferences.<br /><br />This is the statement from the new Bishop of Guildford:<br /><blockquote>"The Diocese of Guildford has taken extremely seriously the reports and complaints regarding Stephen Sizer over the past two weeks. Concerns surrounding Stephen were raised both in response to allegedly offensive materials linked from his Facebook account, and to comments he made to the Jewish News and the Daily Telegraph thereafter.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"Commenting on this matter, the Council of Christians and Jews has helpfully highlighted that:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">‘It is perfectly possible to criticize Israeli policies without such criticism being anti-Semitic, and Christians and others should feel free to do so. However, such legitimate criticism must not be used as a cloak for anti-Semitism, nor can anti-Semitism itself ever be disguised as mere political comment’. (<a href="http://www.ccj.org.uk/Articles/428865/The_Council_of/News/CCJ_Statement_regarding.aspx">see CCJ website</a>)</blockquote>"Having now met Stephen, in my brand new role as Bishop of Guildford, I do not believe that his motives are anti-Semitic; but I have concluded that, at the very least, he has demonstrated appallingly poor judgment in the material he has chosen to disseminate, particularly via social media, some of which is clearly anti-Semitic.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"By associating with or promoting subject matter, which is either ambiguous in its motivation, or (worse still) openly racist, he has crossed a serious line. I regard these actions as indefensible.<br /><br />"I have welcomed Stephen’s apology, his recognition of the deep hurt caused by his actions, his acknowledgement of the gross insensitivity of their timing just prior to Holocaust Memorial Day, and his retraction of the ridiculous suggestion that Israel may have been complicit in the events of 9/11. I have also recognized that much of Stephen’s ministry in other areas and at other times has been good, wise and wholesome.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"Having consulted closely with my colleagues here in the Diocese, though, it is my view that Stephen’s strong but increasingly undisciplined commitment to an anti-Zionist agenda has become a liability to his own ministry and that of the wider church. Many who more moderately support the Palestinian cause, and share his critique of a particular brand of Christian fundamentalism, themselves find Stephen’s actions to be increasingly unhelpful and counter-productive, a fact he himself now recognizes.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"It is therefore my decision that Stephen’s work in this area is no longer compatible with his ministry as a parish priest.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"In order for Stephen to remain in parish ministry, I have therefore asked for - and received from him - a solemn undertaking, in writing, that he is to refrain entirely from writing or speaking on any theme that relates, either directly or indirectly, to the current situation in the Middle East or to its historical backdrop.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"He has promised to refrain, with no exceptions, from attendance at or participation in any conferences which promote or are linked to this agenda; from all writing, tweeting, blogging, emailing, preaching and teaching on these themes, whether formally or informally – a prohibition which of course includes posting links to other sites; and from all background work in this area which may resource others to act as spokespeople in Stephen’s stead.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"Should Stephen be deemed by the Diocese to have broken this agreement, in letter or in spirit, he has pledged to offer me his immediate resignation, which I will duly accept. He has also agreed to desist from the use of social media entirely for the next six months, after which he and I will review that prohibition.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"It is fair to say that Stephen seems relieved to be working within this clear new framework, and would now like to redirect his energies into his work as a parish priest.<br /><br />"The Diocese of Guildford has been in contact with the Board of Deputies of British Jews throughout this matter. I have made them aware of Stephen’s undertaking, and am grateful for the positive and constructive nature of our conversations.<br /><br />"I would also like to thank all those who have taken the time to contact me and my colleagues in the aftermath of these events, and for everything we have learnt from your various perspectives.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"Most importantly of all, I am hugely sorry for the hurt which has been caused to members of the Jewish Community, and I hope and pray that the storms of the past two weeks will ultimately serve to deepen and strengthen our relationship, one with another. This is a time when I would urge all Christian people to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters in countering the alarming rise of anti-Semitic incidents being reported, not least here in the UK. This is also a time for people of faith, Jews, Christians, Muslims and others, to work together in that open, robust partnership that will help to promote peace and justice in our communities, our nation and the wider world."</blockquote><b>Update</b>: Sizer's letter of apology and statement that he will refrain from all activity relating to the Middle East conflict is posted to the diocese of Guildford's website: <a href="http://www.cofeguildford.org.uk/docs/default-source/news-documents/stephen-sizer-letter.pdf?sfvrsn=2">Stephen Sizer letter</a> (direct link to PDF document). Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-59637054243642955602015-02-08T20:34:00.006+01:002015-02-08T20:34:50.530+01:00Sunset in Bochum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0sDetHRU2lI/VNe5zvoJ1VI/AAAAAAAAOnE/ZV6KwxJgh0g/s1600/20150208_174826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0sDetHRU2lI/VNe5zvoJ1VI/AAAAAAAAOnE/ZV6KwxJgh0g/s1600/20150208_174826.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's been exceptionally cloudy and rainy here the last few days, so it's nice to see a pretty sunset. View is from my living room window. Crane is for nearby construction.</div><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-84195789337736325612015-02-08T05:16:00.001+01:002015-02-08T14:04:59.537+01:00Anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations in Germany in summer 2014<b>Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, and Essen, summer 2014</b><br /><br />I've been hesitant to write on the topic of anti-Israel demonstrations that happened in this area of Germany last summer, but after reading that a judge in Wuppertal refused to believe that three people who firebombed a synagogue were motivated by antisemitism (see my previous post), I thought it was important to post videos and my comments on several anti-Israel demos and marches, in order to provide some information about the anti-Israel (and antisemitic) political atmosphere then.<br /><br />I have viewed videos of two demonstrations in Bochum, one in Gelsenkirchen, and one in Essen. Essen is about a 12 minute train ride from Bochum, and Gelsenkirchen is about 30 minutes away by train.<br /><br />I was able to find information about two anti-Israel demos in Bochum. I had not yet arrived in Bochum (I only came here in early October). I found out about them because several videos were posted to Youtube showing the demonstrations. I was looking for them in the course of viewing a number of videos of anti-Israel rallies and marches in Europe, after I had experienced an anti-Israel rally in Zurich, Switzerland, when I was visiting there briefly in July. (I wrote a <a href="http://mystical-politics.blogspot.de/2014/07/anti-israel-demonstration-in-zurich.html">post</a> about it last summer).<br /><br />A nearby town, Essen, had more demonstrations than Bochum, including one that threatened the Old Synagogue in Essen. There have also been anti-Israel rallies in Dortmund, with antisemitic placards. I've looked at the online version of the newspaper <i>Der Westen</i> and have seen photographs from these rallies. I've also viewed two videos of the demonstrations in Bochum. These are my comments on the two Bochum demonstrations, one in Gelsenkirchen, and one in Essen.<br /><br /><b>Bochum, July 11, 2014</b><br /><div><br /></div><div>This demonstration consisted almost entirely of Muslim men chanting Islamic slogans like "Allahu Akbar," and "Takbir, Allahu Akbar," "There is no god but God and Muhammad the prophet of God," "Muhammad habib Allah," and "Free Islam." For much of the time it seemed more like a rally for Islam than for any particular political cause.<br /><br />&nbsp;There were also specifically anti-Israel slogans; &nbsp;"Kinder mörder Israel" "Frauen mörder Israel," "Free Palestine," "Stopp der Krieg," "Free Islam."&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"Gaza brennt, Europa brennt."&nbsp;</span>The slogan "Child murder Israel" is redolent of the ritual murder accusations against Jews from the Middle Ages.<br /><br />At the 24:52 point, the demonstrators start to chant a blatantly antisemitic slogan:&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Khaybar, Khaybar Ya Yahud, jaish Muhammad sayaud" - "Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, Mohammed’s army will return. ” This refers to a battle in the oasis of Khaybar, in Arabia, between Jewish tribes and the followers of Muhammad in 629 C.E., which the Jews lost to the Muslims. They were forced to pay tribute in order to remain in the oasis, but were expelled from it several years later. Jeffrey Goldberg &nbsp;says about the slogan when it is chanted today: "The intent of the slogan was obvious - the reconstituted army of Muhammad in Palestine would do to the Jews today what the first army of the Prophet did to the Jews in Arabia fourteen hundred years ago."</span></span><br /><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qRxsaWehGJE?rel=0" width="640"></iframe> <br /><div><br /></div><div><b>Bochum, July 25, 2014</b></div><div><br />Another demonstration was held during the day a couple of weeks later, this time in front of the main train station and marching from it. I watched a video (which has subsequently been taken down from Youtube), and it showed people chanting some of the same slogans. This was a more mixed crowd, both men and women, and did not seem to be entirely Muslim, although there were still Muslim slogans.<br /><br />Some of the chants:</div><br /><div class="p1">"Terror-staat Israel" - Terror state Israel</div><div class="p1"></div><div class="p1">"Kinder mörder Israel" - Israel, child murderer</div><div class="p1">Allahu Akbar - God is the greater</div><div class="p1"></div><div class="p1">Takbir, Allahu Akbar - "God is the greater" (in Arabic). "Takbir" is said first to invite people to say "Allahu Akbar."</div><div class="p1"></div><div class="p1">"Freiheit fur Palastina," (Freedom for Palestine), followed by "Takbir," and &nbsp;"Allahu Akbar"</div><div class="p1"></div><div class="p1">"Stopp den krieg" - Stop the war</div><div class="p1"></div><div class="p1">"Free Free Palastina"</div><div class="p1"></div><div class="p1">And in Persian: "Marg bar Israel" - death to Israel</div><br />Another, shorter video of the same demo, titled "Antisemitische Demo Bochum 25.7.2014 - 1." It includes the opening speech, in German. This and the next video appear to have posted to Youtube by the Antifa people.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fYTOt1RORLU?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />One thing to notice is that right behind the big posters that say, "We are not terrorists; we want peace and freedom; Free Palestine," there is a black flag with white Arabic writing on it. The words on the flag are the <i>shehadah</i>, the Muslim declaration of faith: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God." This is not just a religious statement however, it is the black flag of jihad.<br /><br />A second video of the same demonstration, titled "Anti-Semitic demonstration Bochum 07.25.2014 - 2 - Israel flag is destroyed"<br /><br />&nbsp; <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vDUNqbAVj54?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />The opening scene shows men holding an Israeli flag and tearing it to pieces. Next scene - trying to burn another Israeli flag and chanting "freedom for Gaza." A woman wearing a Turkish flag also tried to burn it.<br /><br /><b>Gelsenkirchen, July 12, 2014</b><br /><br />Here is a video of another demonstration in a town nearby Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, also in July, 2014.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AixPXzvRyBI?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />They start with "Allahu Akbar" and then go to "Khaybar Khaybar Ya Yahud." This again was a night-time rally with almost only Muslim men in attendance.<br /><br /><b>Essen, July 18, 2014</b><br /><br />Another rally in Essen on July 18, 2014 descended into violence. At first there was an anti-Israel rally sponsored by Die Linke (the Left Party), and in another part of downtown, a pro-Israel rally. Once the Left Party rally ended (and it appears that there was also a sizable contingent of young Muslims, chanting the same slogans I've noted above), these demonstrators ran shouting to the pro-Israel rally in Willy Brandt Plaza. The anti-Israel demonstrators are clearly antisemitic, not just anti-Israel. They're chanting "Death to the Jews" and "Adolf Hitler" (by the way, it's illegal to chant slogans like these in Germany), and making the Nazi salute (also illegal). Later in the video you can hear the slogan "Fuck the Jews." This video helpfully has English translations of some of the chants and signs.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5zoukXdlOvE?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />A couple of stills from this video:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9F26gn3a3vA/VNbbVUEXfkI/AAAAAAAAOl4/AQEGnQTFuiE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-08%2Bat%2B4.42.07%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9F26gn3a3vA/VNbbVUEXfkI/AAAAAAAAOl4/AQEGnQTFuiE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-08%2Bat%2B4.42.07%2BAM.png" height="195" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Notice the Star of David with the swastika inside it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And a woman with "Fuck you Israel" written on the back of her shirt:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a2EIwhBiMYE/VNbb4r90mqI/AAAAAAAAOmA/n9Xeq2PVJQ4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-08%2Bat%2B4.44.19%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a2EIwhBiMYE/VNbb4r90mqI/AAAAAAAAOmA/n9Xeq2PVJQ4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-08%2Bat%2B4.44.19%2BAM.png" height="400" width="340" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D6A0h8CexGQ/VNbdF1-gYmI/AAAAAAAAOmM/6yalHN_J5O4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-08%2Bat%2B4.49.46%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D6A0h8CexGQ/VNbdF1-gYmI/AAAAAAAAOmM/6yalHN_J5O4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-02-08%2Bat%2B4.49.46%2BAM.png" height="406" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">"Freedom for Palestine. Stop the Jewish terror."</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From watching these videos and examining the signs, it's clear that some of the people who went to these demonstrations were motivated by more than outrage about the sufferings of the people of Gaza at the hands of the Israeli army. They were motivated by pure, naked antisemitism. People shouting "Death to Jews" are not criticizing the state of Israel or protesting against it. They are inciting to murder. People who make a sign where the swastika is inside the Star of David are not just criticizing Israel - they are equating Israel with the Nazis, and therefore also equating what the Gaza War with the Holocaust. This is also blatantly antisemitic. People who link "freedom for Palestine" with stopping "Jewish terror" are not calling for a free, independent Palestinian state - they are accusing Jews of being terrorists.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Update</b>&nbsp;- the website "Honestly Concerned" posted links to videos documenting a whole series of anti-Israel demonstrations in Germany in the summer of 2014: &nbsp;<a href="http://honestlyconcerned.info/2014/08/05/dokumentation-videos-von-einer-kleinen-auswahl-der-antiisraelischen-hassdemonstrationen-der-letzten-wochen/?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=ct&amp;utm_content=posts&amp;utm_campaign=related_posts">VIDEOS OF A SMALL SELECTION OF ANTI-ISRAEL HATRED DEMONSTRATIONS IN RECENT WEEKS</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-10263576682564633762015-02-08T04:41:00.002+01:002015-02-08T13:51:30.136+01:00German Judge: Torching of Synagogue not motivated by anti-SemitismThis is an outrageous denial of reality. Three Palestinians in Germany threw firebombs at the synagogue in Wuppertal this past July. They were convicted of arson, but the judge <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/synagogue-arson-in-germany-not-anti-semitism-says-judge/2015/02/07/">did not believe</a> they committed the crime for antisemitic reasons!<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Three German Palestinians convicted of arson after hurling firebombs at a synagogue in Germany were motivated by trying to bring “attention to the Gaza conflict,” according to the judge who convicted them on Thursday, Jerusalem Post journalist Benjamin Weinthal reported.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The judge in the case did not believe the men were guilty of anti-Semitism, according to outraged Green Party deputy Volker Beck, who told media he wrote to the prosecutor in the case to file a legal objection, reported.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Several days prior to the firebombing, “Free Palestine” had been sprayed in paint on to the wall of the synagogue as well.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The rebuilt synagogue in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia was undamaged in the July 29, 2014 attack, which sparked a solidarity rally outside the building that same night. Dieter Graumann, then-president of the German Central Council of Jews, condemned the attack as did Germany’s Central Council of Muslims.</blockquote><div>The synagogue was attacked in the middle of the wave of anti-Israel and anti-semitic demonstrations that occurred in Europe last summer during the Gaza war, which were accompanied by many other attacks upon individual Jews and Jewish institutions.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6eV4DjYg7OM/VNaxRPwbj-I/AAAAAAAAOlo/e5j2oqU7U80/s1600/Wuppertal%2Bsynagogue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6eV4DjYg7OM/VNaxRPwbj-I/AAAAAAAAOlo/e5j2oqU7U80/s1600/Wuppertal%2Bsynagogue.jpg" height="432" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="source" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-family: SZSansRegular; line-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">Firebomb attack: Police officers at the synagogue in Wuppertal (Photo: dpa)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>How can attacking a synagogue with firebombs <b>not be</b>&nbsp;an antisemitic act? A synagogue is a specifically <b>Jewish </b>place of worship. It is not a representative of the state of Israel.</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">Graumann said, “We have seen … during the war in Gaza, demonstrations of pure primitive hatred against the Jews that broke out again. It is very hard for me to talk about it but, when there are calls in the streets of Germany, ‘Jews to the gas,’ it hurts us greatly,” he added."</blockquote><div><div>Further from Benjamin Weinthal's article in the Jerusalem Post (<a href="http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/German-Judge-Torching-of-Synagogue-not-motivated-by-anti-Semitism-390294">German Judge: Torching of Synagogue not motivated by anti-Semitism</a>):</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Wuppertal court sentenced the two men, ages 24 and 29, to a suspended prison term of one year and three months. The two men, along with an 18-year-old juvenile, in July tossed Molotov cocktails at the synagogue in Wuppertal, a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with a population of nearly 344,000. The court ordered all three to perform 200 hours of community service.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Beck said on Saturday the “attack on the Synagogue was motivated by anti-Semitism” and blasted the court for issuing a decision stating that the goal of the attack was to bring “attention to the Gaza conflict.” Israel, last summer, was involved a 50-day war in the Gaza Strip.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“This is a mistaken decision as far as the motives of the perpetrators are concerned. Therefore, I have written the prosecutor and called for the filing of a legal objection,” he said, adding that the burning of a synagogue in Germany because of the Middle East conflict can be attributed only to anti-Semitism.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“What do Jews in Germany have to do with the Middle East conflict? Every bit as much as Christians, non-religious people or Muslims in Germany, namely, absolutely nothing. The ignorance of the judiciary toward anti-Semitism is for many Jews in Germany especially alarming.”&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The three German Palestinians caused €800 damage to the synagogue. The original synagogue in Wuppertal was burned by Germans during the Kristallnacht pogroms in 1938.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">A 13-year-old who lived near the synagogue and noticed the flames informed the police. Several days before the fire, a person sprayed “Free Palestine” on a wall of the synagogue.<br /><br />An increase of German anti-Semitism had prompted Chancellor Angela Merkel to speak at an anti-Jew hatred rally in September.</blockquote>The city of Wuppertal is about 35 kilometers away from Bochum. It would take me about an hour to get there by train. The synagogue in Bochum was not attacked during the summer, but there were at least two anti-Israel demonstrations in the city, both accompanied by chants of "child murderer Israel," "Free Free Palestina," and "Terror-Staat Israel," along with Muslim chants like "Allahu Akbar."<br /><br /><b>Update:</b><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.taz.de/Anschlag-auf-Wuppertaler-Synagoge/!152848/">Taz</a> reported on the trial on January 14, 2015 - the defendants claimed they were drunk and did not intend to set the synagogue on fire.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/anschlag-auf-synagoge-in-wuppertal-gemeinde-unterschock-1.2081027">Suddeutsche Zeitung</a> from August 8, 2014, reported on the firebombing:<br /><blockquote>A small yellow car drives by the Wuppertal synagogue, and the windows are rolled down, with young people screaming "Free Palestine." This has been happening for weeks, and Artour Gourari finds it perfectly fine (<i>völlig in Ordnung</i>), at least to some extent. "This is part of the freedom of expression," says Gourari, from the council of the Jewish community in Wuppertal.&nbsp;</blockquote>Reading further in the story, it appears that passersby did not just scream "Free Palestine," but other more vile insults. If I were him I would not have found this "perfectly fine," since Jews, especially in a German synagogue, should not subject to verbal assaults and blamed for what the state of Israel does.<br /><blockquote>What is not covered by the freedom of expression, one can see behind him on a spot on the floor and on the outer wall of the synagogue, smelling of gasoline&nbsp;and oil. Last week, three young people of Arab descent threw Molotov cocktails at the synagogue, and two suspects are sitting in detention. You could read in the past week that it suffered no damage. It sounded as if nothing happened.</blockquote><blockquote>"You have to imagine what kind of a symbol this is. Once again a synagogue has burned in Germany," says Artour Gourari. "We are all in shock." To date, they have not found a way to clean the gasoline from the entrance to the synagogue. Youcan not just spray around with the pressure washer, the Bergische region is a protected area for drinking and the groundwater beneath the synagogue is particularly sensitive. It flows into the magnificent ritual bath of which they are so proud, which is unique in the region. It would be bad if a Jew had to bathe in the attacker's gasoline. So the remains of the fire simply stay where they are.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote><b>"It's a shame that synagogues need to be guarded," says Minister</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>On Tuesday evening, the North Rhine-Westphalian Integration Minister Guntram Schneider lays down a bouquet down and says, "Jewish life in Germany is fragile, it is a shame that synagogues must be guarded." Earlier, the police had only come by on a regular patrol, now a patrol car is parked regularly outside the door.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>This is now a reality in Wuppertal, but it is not so brand new. When the synagogue was opened in 2002, neo-Nazis marched through the city. But then as now, the people of Wuppertal stand against them. Immediately after the arson attack last week, people flocked to the synagogue, and demonstrated against the violence. "It was very well done," says Gourari. The representatives of the Mosque Association condemned the action immediately.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Wuppertal was a model of integration for a long time in North Rhein-Westphalia. From Solingen and Bonn the Salafists are attracted "to Syria and Iraq...." In Wuppertal, says Mohamed Abodahab from the Mosque Association. "We live peacefully and amicably together. The Palestine conflict cannot be solved in Wuppertal." They do not want it.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>.....If one is only a couple of minutes away from the synagogue, then there is already quite a lot of screaming and brawls: "Free Palestine" is the most harmless.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote><b>From 60 to 2,300 members</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Gourari says his life has changed a lot since the new war in Gaza. He now appears to people to be an expert. "All the time I am asked how I stand on Israel's settlement policy. It is, however, my human right not to have a stand on settlement policy. What is more interesting for me is German health care reform." But it is not so simple for him these days.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Gourari came many years ago from the former Soviet Union to Germany, and has long had German citizenship. And yet people look at him funny when they ask him about his home and he says "Remscheid". Without people like him there would be no more Jewish community in Wuppertal. In the late 1980s, there were only 60 members, all of whom were quite old. For many traditional prayers there were not even enough men. On Chanukah there were no more children to give presents to. "We were about to join the community in Dusseldorf," says Ruth Yael Tutzinger, the chairman of the council. Then the Iron Curtain fell, now the community has 2,300 members, a private sports club, a chess club and a kosher café.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>At the end of the 1990s the community grew so strong that they needed a new synagogue. Johannes Rau, who comes from Wuppertal, made the case, and the Protestant community sold a plot of land for a symbolic euro. Now the Protestant city church and synagogue stand side by side. There is no fence, the summer festivals are celebrated together. After the arson attack, the Protestants were on the spot immediately to show their solidarity.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>"This has been infinitely good for us," says Artour Gourari. "But we would like that other parts of society would take a stand against anti-Semitism.&nbsp;It is often expected that we Jews do it ourselves. Because we are considered experts for such things. But anti-Semitism is a problem of the whole society."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>A car drives by. "Free Palestine" echoes through Wuppertal.</blockquote></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-9929886889090921622015-02-03T15:44:00.002+01:002015-02-03T15:44:56.635+01:00Stephen Sizer defended by 9/11 Truther Anthony HallAnthony Hall, a defender of Sizer's Facebook post about the 9/11 Truthers who claim Israeli/Jewish involvement in the 9/11 attacks, has written a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/02/01/another-martyr-for-911-truth/">rambling and conspiracy-laden article</a>&nbsp;about him in Veterans Today, a Neonazi site.&nbsp;Hall is a "Professor of Globalization Studies at University of Lethbridge in Alberta Canada." He writes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This time Reverend Sizer is charged with mirroring on his Facebook page a small sample of the large and growing body of evidence demonstrating that Israeli-American neocons were lead protagonists in the 9/11 crimes. They directed the complex of US and Israeli agencies that cooperated in the commission of the 9/11 debacle itself and in the coordination of the many subversions entailed in the continuing and increasingly desperate 9/11 cover-up.</blockquote>Hall wrote on his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/anthony.j.hall.33/posts/10153076953733659?pnref=story">Facebook page</a>: "Earlier today Antonius received an E-Mail from Rev. Sizer indicating 'Right now I am in survival mode. I anticipate losing my role, my income and home.'" If Hall actually did receive such an email from Sizer, this is further evidence of Sizer's involvement with the murky world of 9/11 Truthers, antisemites, and Holocaust deniers.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-37612265025652587242015-02-03T00:57:00.001+01:002015-02-03T01:00:01.130+01:00Students for Justice in Palestine - recent folliesSJP at DePaul University in Chicago:&nbsp;<a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/338785/depaul-group-honor-convicted-killer">Why does DePaul group honor a convicted killer?</a><br /><blockquote>This Tuesday, Feb. 3, Rasmieh Odeh, a convicted killer, will be honored at a fundraiser held at DePaul University organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). SJP is a national organization which pursues an anti-Israel agenda on college campuses across the country.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Odeh was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, designated by the US, Canada, and the EU as a terrorist group. In 1970, Odeh was convicted in Israel for a 1969 bombing at a Jerusalem supermarket that killed two Hebrew University students, Leon Kanner, 21 and Edward Joffe, 22. Odeh’s sentence was life in prison, but she was released in a 1995 prisoner exchange.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Why is a convicted terrorist being honored? SJP is raising funds for Odeh’s legal defense in the US. After being released from Israeli prison, Odeh immigrated to the US. Last November a federal jury in Detroit found her guilty of lying on her naturalization papers by answering “no” when asked if she had “ever” been charged or convicted of a crime.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Odeh, now in her late 60s, is portrayed by anti-Israel activists as a victim of Zionist oppression. This narrative has been ably refuted by Cornell law professor William A. Jacobson, who posted an impressive number of original documents on his website Legal Insurrection. I encourage skeptics to examine the evidence for themselves, including a 2004 documentary in which Odeh’s co-conspirator describes how Odeh masterminded the supermarket bombing.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>The organizers of the fundraiser honoring a convicted terrorist, SJP, refuse to talk to other students unless they accept the view that Israel is an apartheid state. My experience as a rabbi at several prominent American universities has been consistent: students affiliated with SJP will not dialog with students who identify as Zionists or pro-Israel (neither Jews nor gentiles), because they say this “normalizes the occupation.” This attitude erodes civil discourse and is at odds with the values of any university, secular or religious.</blockquote>SJP at UC Davis:<br /><br /><a href="http://sjpwest.org/2015/01/30/uc-davis-passes-divestment-6th-uc-campus-to-officially-endorse/">UC Davis student government passes divestment</a><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">“At tonight’s (Jan. 29) ASUCD senate meeting, Senate Resolution (SR) #9 passed with an 8-2-2 vote. The text of SR #9 calls for the University of California (UC) Board of Regents to divest from “corporations that aid in the Israeli occupation of Palestine and illegal settlements in Palestinian territories, violating both international humanitarian law and international human rights.” ASUCD voted down a similar resolution this past May.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">With the passing vote, ASUCD formally recommends the UC Regents to divest from American companies Caterpillar Inc., G4S PLC, Veolia Environment and Raytheon.<br /><br />Over 550 UC Davis students, staff and faculty members attended the senate meeting, which was called to order at 8:57 p.m. in the Sciences Lecture Hall 123.”</blockquote><a href="http://freebeacon.com/issues/hamas-on-campus">On the UC Davis vote</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Anti-Israel activists at the University of California, Davis heckled Jewish students and shouted “Allahhu Akbar” at them during a vote last week on a resolution endorsing a boycott of the Jewish state, according to video of the event obtained by theWashington Free Beacon.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The commotion erupted late Thursday evening as pro-Israel students attempted to counter a student government resolution to divest from Israel as part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Activists waving Palestinian flags shouted at the Jewish and pro-Israel students as they left the meeting room ahead of an <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/uc-davis-passes-divestment-resolution-five-other-campaigns-launched">eight to two vote in favor</a> of the divestment resolution, which is part of a larger movement by anti-Israel groups to attack Israel and pro-Israel students on campus.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“Allahhu Akhbar!” a large group of activists shouted in unison as the pro-Israel students filed out of U.C. Davis’ meeting room, according to video provided by a member of Aggies for Israel, a pro-Israel student group at Davis.&nbsp;</blockquote><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-eTDT9FEPRQ?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Following the vote, which was championed by the pro-Hamas group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), unknown vandals <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article8865731.html">spray-painted swastikas</a> on a fraternity house belonging to the Jewish AEPi organization. [<i>Note: while I'm no fan of SJP, I think it's wrong to call them "pro-Hamas</i>"].</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Additionally, Azka Fayyaz, a member of the U.C. Davis student senate, posted on her Facebook page a triumphant message following the vote: “Hamas &amp; Sharia law have taken over UC Davis.”<br /><br />Fayyaz followed this with another post stating: “If a movement is not controversial, if no one is mad, its [sic] not strong enough &amp; it’s not worth the fight. Israel will fall insha’Allah.”....&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Members of the AEPi fraternity also took note of the proximity between the BDS vote and the defacement of their home.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“Our U.C. Davis AEPi fraternity house was tagged with two swastikas, coming 24 hours after the deeply troubling actions on campus coming from those seeking to delegitimize Israel and her people,” a group of AEPi leaders and alumni members said in a joint statement released after the anti-Semitic attack.</blockquote>See also the <a href="http://www.standwithus.com/news/article.asp?id=3735">report</a> from Stand With Us about the UCSD vote.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-62229050155872420312015-01-31T19:25:00.001+01:002015-02-01T02:37:27.610+01:00"The Mind Unleashed" and Fluoridation of Water<div class="tr_bq">I've been getting a few comments on <a href="http://mystical-politics.blogspot.de/2014/08/why-you-should-not-repost-articles-from.html">my post</a> about why you should not repost articles from The Mind Unleashed. One of the things I noted was that "The site publishes many articles arguing that fluoride is an evil substance that should not be added to our drinking water." The comments I've received inveigh against the supposed dangers of fluoride in the drinking water, which was added in order to combat dental cavities. The latest post quoted an article from a website called "<a href="http://www.culturechange.org/e-letter-braincontrol.html">Culture Change</a>" which claims that the Nazis used fluoride in concentration camps "to keep the inmates passive." This was because, "The poison serves to decrease resistance to authority." How fluoride accomplishes this is not described (or supported by any evidence) in the article.</div><br />I know that there have been campaigns in the US against fluoridation of water since at least the 1960s - as I recall this was something that upset the John Birch Society because they thought it was a communist conspiracy. These campaigns apparently still exist, as evidenced by my correspondents.<br /><br />The American Dental Association has a statement on its website supporting fluoridation because it reduces cavities (<a href="http://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/advocating-for-the-public/fluoride-and-fluoridation">Fluoride and Fluoridation</a>):<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">On January 25,1945 Grand Rapids, Michigan became the world's first city to adjust the level of fluoride in its water supply. Since that time, fluoridation has dramatically improved the oral health of tens of millions of Americans. Community water fluoridation is the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proclaimed community water fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. Approximately 74.6% of the U.S. population served by public water systems receive the benefit of optimally fluoridated water.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Fluoridation of community water supplies is simply the adjustment of the existing, naturally occurring fluoride levels in drinking water to an optimal fluoride level for the prevention of tooth decay. Water that has been fortified with fluoride is similar to fortifying milk with Vitamin D, table salt with iodine, and bread and cereals with folic acid.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">For nearly 70 years, studies have consistently shown that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe and effective in preventing dental decay in both children and adults. Simply by drinking water, children and adults can benefit from fluoridation's cavity protection whether they are at home, work or school.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Today, studies prove water fluoridation continues to be effective in reducing tooth decay by at least 25%, even in an era with widespread availability of fluoride from other sources, such as fluoride toothpaste.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Fluoridation is one public health program that actually saves money. An individual can have a lifetime of fluoridated water for less than the cost of one dental filling.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The American Dental Association continues to endorse fluoridation of community water supplies as safe and effective for preventing tooth decay. This support has been the Association's position since policy was first adopted in 1950. The ADA's policies regarding community water fluoridation are based on the best available science. The ADA, along with state and local dental societies, continues to work with federal, state and local agencies to increase the number of communities benefiting from water fluoridation.</blockquote>A science blogger, Skeptical Raptor, has recently blogged on the claims against fluoridation of water in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/water-fluoridation-the-47-millionth-blog-post-issue/">Fluoridation, the 47 millionth blog post issue</a>.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Orac, at Respectful Insolence, also <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2013/05/23/score-one-for-the-antiscience-cranks-in-portland-on-fluoridation/">blogged</a> on the 2013 referendum in Portland, Oregon, which resulted in a decision not to fluoridate water there. He has a good discussion of the scientific issues.</div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-16927141359004593852015-01-31T02:19:00.001+01:002015-02-03T15:43:55.959+01:00Stephen Sizer is being investigated by the Church of EnglandOn the Stephen Sizer front, it appears that the Church of England is going to investigate his latest infelicities: "<a href="http://linkis.com/christiantoday.com/0Z5oG">Church of England to investigate Stephen Sizer over 9/11 Israel post</a>."<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Church of England is investigating one of its clergy after he posted a link on Facebook post to an article entitled "9-11/Israel did it".&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">In the week in which Prince Charles led commemorations at Holocaust Memorial Day marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Rev Stephen Sizer's link was condemned by the Church as "unacceptable" and a matter of "deep sorrow and shame"....&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">When Jewish News contacted Sizer about the 9/11 link, he asked the weekly newspaper to show him articles refuting such claims.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The article he linked to attempted to make connections between wealthy American Jews and the 9/11 attacks. Sizer asked online: "Is this anti-Semitic?.. It raises so many questions."...&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">In an email to the Jewish News, Sizer said: "I would welcome articles you can recommend refuting the allegations." Noting that many Americans feel 9/11 was "an inside job," Sizer added: "It is essential the public become convinced of what happened before and after 9/11. Inevitably the truth will upset many people if it is shown by further investigation that the official explanations are shown to be deficient."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">He added: "Encouraging research and debate on all aspects of [9/11] is not anti-Semitic... Suppressing discussion on such grounds will fuel suspicion, not remove it." </blockquote>He just posted the following statement on his blog:<br /><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><a href="http://stephensizer.blogspot.de/2015/01/statement-from-revd-dr-stephen-sizer.html">Statement from Revd Dr Stephen Sizer</a><br /><br />"I very much regret and apologise for the distress caused by the reposting on Facebook of a link to an article about 9/11 from Wikispooks. It was particularly insensitive in that last week coincided with Holocaust Memorial Day. I removed the link as soon as I received adverse feedback, and realised that offence had been caused. I have never believed Israel or any other country was complicit in the terrorist atrocity of 9/11, and my sharing of this material was ill-considered and misguided. At the request of the Diocese, I will be suspending my use of all social media and blogs with immediate effect and until further notice.”</blockquote>He has, however, not removed the whitewashing article on his blog about his <a href="http://stephensizer.blogspot.de/2014/12/more-ambassadors-needed.html">participation</a> in the Iranian government's "New Horizons interfaith conference" in Teheran in October, which I wrote about then - <a href="http://mystical-politics.blogspot.de/2014/10/stephen-sizer-hanging-out-at.html">Stephen Sizer hanging out at an antisemitic conference in Iran</a>. This is where he issued a threat to those who criticize the Iranian government:&nbsp;"Critics of conferences such as New Horizons should think more carefully about how their inflammatory words will negatively impact on their own communities in Iran." Apparently Sizer believes that Jews and Christians living in Western countries, where we have freedom of speech, should refrain from criticizing the Iranian government because our co-religionists might be attacked by the government because of our words. There's a word for that: blackmail.</div><div><br /></div><div>At that conference he gave a speech called "<a href="http://www.stephensizer.com/2014/10/christian-jihad-a-biblical-response-to-the-islamic-state/">Christian Jihad</a>," where he equates the Zionist movement with ISIS: "I hope that we would all agree ISIS is no more representative of Islam than Zionism is of Judaism, or the Crusades and Inquisition are of Christianity."</div><div><br /></div><div>For more on Sizer's deep connections to Iran and an Iraqi Shi'ite militia called Kata'ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades), see an&nbsp;<a href="http://hurryupharry.org/2015/01/30/sizer-presents-tv-show-for-channel-linked-to-hezbollah-brigades-will-the-church-of-england-investigate/">article</a>&nbsp;on Harry's Place, "Sizer presents TV show for channel linked to Hezbollah Brigades."&nbsp;The network is called Al-Ejetah, and it is an Iraqi station sponsored by the Kata'ib Hezbollah and paid for by Iran.&nbsp;His program is called "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcjIaExz6Q4DYuKJv4UzP_u-G3FA5ZfOI">Enlightenment</a>."&nbsp;An article on <a href="http://www.thearabdigest.com/2012/01/iran-launches-media-offensive-from.html">The Arab Digest</a>, January 30, 2012, reports that,&nbsp;"The first is the Aletejah TV, an Iraqi channel for the pro-Iranian 'Hezbollah Brigades', a small military organisation that is diverting its attention to "social issues" after the American withdrawal."</div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><a href="http://jihadintel.meforum.org/group/84/kataib-hezbollah">Kata'ib Hezbollah</a> is one of the Iranian-backed "Special Groups" of Shi'a militias that carried out attacks on coalition forces during the Iraq war. Since the U.S. withdrawal, the group has deployed fighters to Syria and has also set up a front group in Iraq, Saraya ad-Difa' ash-Sha'abi ("Popular Defense Brigades"), to assist Iraqi government forces to roll back Sunni insurgent advances, most notably in the Tikrit area, where security sources speaking to pro-government outlets have readily admitted coordination. Kata'ib Hezbollah, as an Iranian proxy, espouses the Khomeinist ideology of Wilayat al-Faqih ("Guardianship of the Jurist").</blockquote>From <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/kataib-hizballah.htm">globalsecurity.org</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Kata’ib Hizballah is a radical Shia Islamist group with an anti-Western establishment and jihadist ideology that has conducted attacks against Iraqi, U.S, and Coalition targets in Iraq. Kata’ib Hizballah has ideological ties to Lebanese Hizballah and gained notoriety in 2007 with attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces designed to undermine the establishment of a democratic, viable Iraqi state. The organization has been responsible for numerous violent terrorist attacks since 2007, including improvised explosive device bombings, rocket propelled grenade attacks, and sniper operations. Kata’ib Hizballah also targeted the International Zone in Baghdad in a November 29, 2008 rocket attack that killed two UN workers. In addition, KH has threatened the lives of Iraqi politicians and civilians that support the legitimate political process in Iraq.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">On June 24, 2009 Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg designated Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (INA). Deputy Secretary Steinberg also designated KH under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended. The Department of Treasury has also designated Kata’ib Hizballah under Executive Order 13438. The Department of State took these actions in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and other relevant U.S. agencies.</blockquote>The Al Ejetah network has also hosted Gilad Atzmon on its Panorama program, speaking on the Jewish lobby. On Atzmon's <a href="http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2014/11/24/al-etejah-panorama-gilad-atzmon-on-ed-miliband-the-labour-and-the-jewish-lobby-tv">webpage</a> the content of the program is described in these terms:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">In this Al Etejah's Panorama program Gilad Atzmon elaborates on the dominance of Jewish lobby in the UK and America and the weak resistance it meets in both Britain and the USA. The activity of the Lobby clearly undermines the notion of Western democracy. We also spoke about the collapse of Left politics and future of Western thinking.</blockquote><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZDRXgdkWXoE?rel=0" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />The Harry's Place article details Sizer's contacts with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Iranian regime:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This is not Sizer’s first experience doing PR for Iran’s Shia network.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Sizer has previously toured South Lebanon as a guest of the Lebanese Hezbollah’s TV network Al Manar TV. ...&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Last year he made a <a href="http://vimeo.com/107053315">tourism video</a> for Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who has overseen the deaths of 200,000 of his own people, in a civil war in which Assad has bombed his and gassed own people repeatedly – not that this deterred Sizer.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Sizer has worked before with the Iranian regime. As you can see in <a href="https://seismicshock.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/the-evangelical-intifada.pdf">this document</a>, he worked with Khomeini’s daughter Zahra Mostafavi to translate his book Christian Zionism into Farsi....&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Iranian regime, remember, jails pastors distributing New Testaments, whilst sponsoring a translation of Sizer’s book, which shows the cross locked in by a giant Star of David on its cover.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Last year, Sizer spoke at an <a href="http://blog.thecst.org.uk/?p=5084">antisemitic conference</a> in Iran, which included&nbsp;<a href="http://blog.adl.org/international/iran-new-horizon-conference-draws-u-s-anti-semites-holocaust-deniers">Holocaust deniers</a> as speakers.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This ought to trouble the Church of England, every bit as much as his 9/11&nbsp;conspiracy theory.</blockquote>Daphne Anson has an excellent article about Sizer on her <a href="http://daphneanson.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/stephen-sizer-re-article-blaming-jews.html">blog</a>, with a screenshot of his Facebook post linking to the article arguing for Israeli/Jewish responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.<br /><br /><b>Further articles on Sizer:</b><br /><b><br /></b>Betsy Childs at <a href="http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2015/02/the-master-of-apologies">First Things</a> writes about Sizer as the "Master of Apologies." She concludes:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">While Stephen Sizer has shown himself ready to apologize, he has been unwilling to alter his behavior. It is past time for his church to stop allowing him to plead carelessness as his excuse. His continual posting of anti-Semitic content, as well as his <a href="http://hurryupharry.org/2015/01/30/stephen-sizer-lies-in-his-apology-and-the-diocese-of-guildford-publishes-his-lie/">disingenuous </a>apologies, brings dishonor to the name of Jesus and the body of Christ.</blockquote><br /></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-38643489679549553222015-01-27T23:38:00.001+01:002015-01-27T23:38:40.099+01:00Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, 2015I am finding living in Bochum to be very emotionally difficult at times. Today is one of those days. Most of the time I focus on the present day - my research, making friends, going out to dinner, reading, traveling to visit museums, but sometimes I find it impossible to avoid thinking about the Holocaust. Sometimes that occurs because of a conversation with colleagues or friends, or because of a place I visit. For example, before Christmas, I went to downtown Bochum with a friend to go to the town's Christmas market (one of the things I really enjoyed doing was visiting several Christmas markets in the area). As we were walking among the shops and waiting to buy some Glühwein (warm, spiced wine), my friend noticed two Stolpersteine ("stumbling stones") on the ground - these are small plaques set into the sidewalk that give the names and birth and death dates of Jews who used to live nearby. They can be found all over Germany, and also elsewhere in Europe. There are about 30 of them in Bochum. People in Bochum researched Jews who lived in the city and perished at the hands of the Nazis. The website of the city of Bochum has a <a href="http://www.bochum.de/stolpersteine/nav/9BLDJS939BOCM" target="_blank">complete list of the Stolpersteine</a> and the presentations made by local citizens.<br /><br />These are the two plaques for Hanna Wittgenstein-Meyer and Bertha Wittgenstein, who were deported to Riga and presumably murdered there. This is a <a href="http://www.bochum.de/C12571A3001D56CE/vwContentByKey/W287J9GA036BOLDDE/$FILE/022_023_Wittgensteijn_Meyer_Hanna_und_Wittgenstein_Bertha.pdf" target="_blank">link</a> to the presentation about them (in PDF form). These two were placed in the ground in May, 2005.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sFJoTNgjuGM/VMgR64kNKDI/AAAAAAAAOjk/5_Q3LHTAL5Q/s1600/Stolpersteine%2Bin%2BBochum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sFJoTNgjuGM/VMgR64kNKDI/AAAAAAAAOjk/5_Q3LHTAL5Q/s1600/Stolpersteine%2Bin%2BBochum.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EgcY8EcTYSo/VMgILyjz--I/AAAAAAAAOjU/vQu7oyuBa2I/s1600/primo_levi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EgcY8EcTYSo/VMgILyjz--I/AAAAAAAAOjU/vQu7oyuBa2I/s1600/primo_levi.jpg" height="400" width="274" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;">Primo Levi</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Seventy years ago today, the Red Army entered Auschwitz-Birkenau and freed the few thousands of starving prisoners who remained there. Primo Levi, in the last chapter of&nbsp;<i><a href="https://books.google.de/books?id=6w1uHveM54EC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=survival+in+auschwitz+primo+levi&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=Uv7HVIfiFIr2PJWKgZgH&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" target="_blank">Survival in Auschwitz</a></i>, describes the experiences of the prisoners in the infirmary who were left behind by the SS guards who drove the rest of the prisoners west to Germany.&nbsp; For ten days the prisoners were in the camp before the Red Army arrived. He survived thanks to two friends, Arthur and Charles. This is what he wrote about January 26 and 27 (pages 170-172):<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We lay in a world of death and phantoms. The last trace of civilization had vanished around and inside us. The work of bestial degradation, begun by the victorious Germans, had been carried to its conclusion by the Germans in defeat.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice; it is no longer man who, having lost all restraint, shares his bed with a corpse. Whoever waits for his neighbour to die in order to take his piece of bread is, albeit guiltless, further from the mode of thinking man than the most primitive pigmy or the most vicious sadist.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Part of our existence lies in the feelings of those near to us. This is why the experience of someone who has lived for days during which man was merely a thing in the eyes of man is non-human. We three were for the most part immune from it, and we owe each other mutual gratitude. That is why my friendship with Charles will prove lasting.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">....The Russians arrived while Charles and I were carrying Somogyi (a fellow prisoner who had died in the night) a little distance outside. He was very light. We overturned the stretcher on the grey snow.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Charles took off his beret. I regretted not having a beret.&nbsp;</blockquote>On January 28, 1945, the New York Times reported on the Soviet military advance through Poland into Germany. The article has a brief notice of the taking of Auschwitz (called Oswiecim in Polish).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r19RRq8ZwZs/VMgFVagF7uI/AAAAAAAAOjA/clRktPJpqRM/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-27%2Bat%2B10.37.31%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r19RRq8ZwZs/VMgFVagF7uI/AAAAAAAAOjA/clRktPJpqRM/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-27%2Bat%2B10.37.31%2BPM.png" height="148" width="320" /></a></div><br />This same article is accompanied by a map that shows the Russian troop movements.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cwh-3LEK87g/VMgF0wJa9qI/AAAAAAAAOjI/hQzazPX26Gs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-27%2Bat%2B10.39.13%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cwh-3LEK87g/VMgF0wJa9qI/AAAAAAAAOjI/hQzazPX26Gs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-27%2Bat%2B10.39.13%2BPM.png" height="523" width="640" /></a></div><br />Auschwitz is at the lower right corner of the map, very close to Cracow.<br /><br />The New York Times published a very short article on February 2, 1945, about the liberation of Auschwitz.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TALhGT1c52I/VMgER18BxJI/AAAAAAAAOi0/x9c9MZbtCNY/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-27%2Bat%2B10.32.48%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TALhGT1c52I/VMgER18BxJI/AAAAAAAAOi0/x9c9MZbtCNY/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-27%2Bat%2B10.32.48%2BPM.png" height="296" width="320" /></a></div><br />The current estimate of those killed at Auschwitz is 1,100,000 people, of whom a million were Jews, so the number given in this article is close. Subsequently, later in the year, there were claims that 4 million to 5 million people were murdered in Auschwitz, but later research showed that this figure was wrong.<br /><br />May their memory be for a blessing.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-53217619533848953992015-01-26T00:52:00.000+01:002015-01-26T00:52:04.789+01:00Anti-Muslim and Anti-American demonstrations in Germany<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gKgvrLtLJQo/VMVt3ZHTV6I/AAAAAAAAOiU/BJ946sy-XDE/s1600/Pegida%2B25.01.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gKgvrLtLJQo/VMVt3ZHTV6I/AAAAAAAAOiU/BJ946sy-XDE/s1600/Pegida%2B25.01.15.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pegida demonstration in Dresden January 25, 2015 (from Deutsche Welle)</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The anti-Muslim PEGIDA demonstrations in Dresden have gotten a lot of attention both in Germany and other countries. The acronym stands for "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West" (In German: "Patriotische Europäer Gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes" - the word "Abendland" literally means "lands of the evening," meaning in the direction of the setting sun. It is not the usual modern German word for Western countries). The demonstrations started early in the fall and until a couple of weeks ago seemed to be increasing in size each week.<br /><br />The demonstration last Monday, however, was cancelled because of Islamist threats to one of the chief organizers of Pegida, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/21/lutz-bachmann-pegida-hitler-photo_n_6515542.html">Lutz Bachmann</a>. Then he was forced to resign from his leadership of the organization because it was discovered that he had posted a photo of himself looking like Hitler on his Facebook page. The leaders of Pegida have claimed that they have nothing to do with Neonazis but now their assertions seem kind of hollow.<br /><br />The latest Pegida demonstration was held today in Dresden, instead of Monday, because tomorrow night there's going to be a big free anti-Pegida concert in the city tomorrow. The Pegida website reported that between 20,000-25,000 attended today's demo, but <a href="http://www.dw.de/numbers-drop-as-pegida-rally-returns-to-dresden/a-18213834?maca=en-rss-en-eu-2092-rdf">Deutsche Welle</a> reported that the police estimated attendance of about 17,500 people.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cMoNmjhn8O8/VMV9JJjPEKI/AAAAAAAAOig/N_88nx2vfbQ/s1600/Pegada%2Bdemo%2Bin%2BErfurt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cMoNmjhn8O8/VMV9JJjPEKI/AAAAAAAAOig/N_88nx2vfbQ/s1600/Pegada%2Bdemo%2Bin%2BErfurt.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pegada demo in front of the main train station in Erfurt.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Another demonstration, inspired by Pegida but with a different target, occurred in Erfurt yesterday. This one is <a href="http://www.dw.de/anti-americanism-hits-germanys-streets/a-18213718">anti-American</a>, with the slogan of&nbsp;"Ami! Go Home!" &nbsp;Between 800-1000 Pegada demonstrations were opposed by about 600 people from Antifa (anti-fascists), who as far as I could tell, were waving an American and an Israeli flag. The Antifa posted a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjo0odai3pc">short video</a> to Youtube that they headlined "Nazi Assault," and captioned it<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"At the beginning of the demonstration of Pegada-march there was a Nazi assault. It was not the only attack by Nazi hooligans from Erfurt, Gera. The marshals of Pegada demonstration hand in hand with Nazi-hooligans. A taste of the HoGeSa demo in March in Erfurt."&nbsp;</blockquote>HoGeSa is another group that coalesced in the fall. The acronym stands for "Hooligans Gegen Salafisten" - in this case right-wing (football) Hooligans against Salafists. In October, 4,000 people came to their demonstration in <a href="http://www.thelocal.de/20141027/hooligans-battle-police-in-central-cologne">Cologne</a> and battled the police. The Facebook page for Pegada <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=555084327928055&amp;id=542745825828572&amp;substory_index=0">mentions</a> HoGeSa with approval.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Over 1,000 people gathered this Saturday in Erfurt, the capital of the eastern state of Thuringia, to protest against the "Americanization" of Europe, amid a groundswell of xenophobia in eastern Germany and ongoing social movements in cities around the country directed against what's been called an <a href="http://www.dw.de/saxonys-premier-tillich-says-islam-is-not-part-of-germany/a-18213837">"Islamization of the occident."</a>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Erfurt police told DW that the situation in front of the central train station on Saturday was "outright aggressive," as protesters held posters and chanted anti-American slogans abreast with some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjo0odai3pc">600 counterdemonstrators who attempted to break police lines</a>.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">One of the main messages one could hear chanted by the mob was, "Ami! Go HOME," which translates roughly as, "Americans! Go HOME." A series of speakers attempted to deliver addresses to the crowd, but their speeches were drowned out by whistling from counterdemonstrators.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Journalists on the ground in Erfurt confirmed to DW that the mood was characterized by an aggressive anti-Americanism, coupled with violence between demonstrators and counterdemonstrators. A brawl nearly broke out at one juncture as counterdemonstrators,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyWSlCwknvA">mostly young members of the left-wing anti-fascist Antifa group</a>, attempted to block the anti-American protesters.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Conspiracy theorists and hooligans&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The anti-Americanism group is an apparent offshoot from the <a href="http://www.dw.de/pegida-neo-nazis-and-organized-rage/a-18212964">PEGIDA movement</a> that has been holding weekly demonstrations for three months now. Its self-proclaimed founder, Frenchman Stephane Simon, explained the reasons behind the group's formation in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ90-IhScJQ">YouTube video posted this week</a>.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"We will no longer watch on as German and European politicans pull the wool over our eyes," said Simon in a video lecture during which he wrote his main theses on a whiteboard behind him. "We cannot continue to support our governments, under NATO dictates, as they pursue and further nothing other than US interests: With our money, our soldiers, and our weapons."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The group has two names, both acronyms in nomenclatural imitation of the PEGIDA movement. Simon said he and his followers were tired of the concentration on Islamization, referring to this as a mere symptom of the more fundamental influences robbing Germany of its autonomy. PEGADA, namely, the Patriotic Europeans Against the Americanization of the Occident is more fitting. The second name, ENDGAME, or "Engaged Democrats Against the Americanization of Europe," serves to clear up ongoing qualms with the cumbersome concepts of "patriotism" and the "occident," endemic to the first name. What's clear, however, is the new focus on the United States as a motivating factor for social protest.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">A number of posts on the group's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/PEGADA-Patriotische-Europ%C3%A4er-Gegen-Die-Amerikanisierung-Des-Abendlandes/542745825828572">facebook page</a> purport the explicitly bellicose nature of US administrations past and present. One warns against Washington's involvement in Ukraine as a "push for a Third World War at the expense of Germany and Western Europe in the hopes of engendering a US economic boom," publishing a video that claims to prove that Washington is pushing for a global war to rejuvenate its "dying economy."&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Also on the PEGADA facebook site one can see a number of posts expressing the support of the right-wing, anti-Islamist hooligan group HoGeSa (Hooligans against Salafists). The <a href="http://www.dw.de/in-cologne-a-clash-between-words-and-deeds/a-18022553">violent</a> group has distanced itself from the widespread anti-Islamization PEGIDA movement in favor of anti-Americanism, because it also accuses the United States of having played a role in the formation of the "Islamic State" (IS).</blockquote>As you can see, both Pegada and HoGeSa are advocating nonsensical conspiracy theories - the US certainly had no role in forming Daesh (ISIS), nor is the US pushing for a "third world war" in the Ukraine.<br /><br />It seems pretty clear also that all of these groups are connected with the German far right, even if not all the people who go to Pegida marches are members of far-right groups. An <a href="http://www.dw.de/pegida-neo-nazis-and-organized-rage/a-18212964">article</a> in Deutsche Welle describes the Neonazis who go to the Pegida marches.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>PEGIDA, neo-Nazis, and organized rage</b>&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Germany's well-organized neo-Nazi scene is merging with the Islamophobic PEGIDA movement. They've become an integral part of the group's weekly marches - and they appear to be tolerated by organizers.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">André E. is a highly conspicuous man. His earlobes have large holes widened over time by black rings. The backs of both his hands are covered in tattoos, one with a skull. If you don't know André E., at first he comes across as intimidating. But if you do know him, you know he's dangerous.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">He has been on trial in Germany since 2013 on charges of helping the far-right terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU), together with group member Beate Zschäpe. He is said to be one of her closest associates. The two are bound together by their hate - for immigrants and for Muslims.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">André E. isn't afraid to show his attitude publicly. In mid-January, right after the NSU trial in Munich, he went straight from the courtroom to a demonstration held by the anti-Islamic PEGIDA movement together with his comrades from the Bavarian neo-Nazi scene.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">PEGIDA, an acronym which translates to "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West," sprung up in the eastern German city of Dresden, and has been organizing weekly demonstrations since October 2014.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Over the past several weeks, well-organized neo-Nazi networks have established their own powerful block within the marches. Officials from far-right parties, neo-Nazis from violence-prone regional groups, and convicted right-wing terrorists are among them - people such as Karl-Heinz Statzberger, for instance, who planned to carry out a bomb attack on a Munich synagogue in 2003.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>A common cause&nbsp;</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">When the marches get underway each week, the neo-Nazis form a kind of rearguard. They scream far-right battle cries with a gutteral roar: "If you don't love Germany, leave Germany!" And many regular citizens join in enthusiastically. Evidently no one seems to feel disturbed by their presence.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">And so it plays out again and again at PEGIDA marches in cities around the country. In northern Germany, the leadership of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) participates in the demonstrations. In Berlin, neo-Nazis march with Nazi symbols on their clothing, clearly showing off their beliefs. And at the home of the PEGIDA protests, in Dresden, members of far-right hooligan groups serve as leaders. None of the protest organizers seem to object to their participation.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">So why has the extreme right been so successful in merging with the PEGIDA movement? A recent study by the Technical University in Dresden indicates that the neo-Nazis and the "furious citizens" who participate have many beliefs in common. Both groups share a general dissatisfaction with politics, both have racial prejudices, and both reject Islam.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The far-right scene tries to use that to its advantage, and so far it's been successful. Its alliance with the middle classes is, however, fragile, because most of the people who support the anti-Islamic PEGIDA movement reject the use of violence as a political tool. Violence, however, is one of the key features of the organized neo-Nazis.&nbsp;</blockquote>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-66807820169841160722015-01-25T22:11:00.000+01:002015-01-25T22:11:36.955+01:00A Visit to the "Deutsches Bergbau Museum"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_FK4JOzK1o/VMUgKq9VZAI/AAAAAAAAOhw/pMlY2f4Luqc/s1600/20150125_151315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_FK4JOzK1o/VMUgKq9VZAI/AAAAAAAAOhw/pMlY2f4Luqc/s1600/20150125_151315.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Deutsches Bergbau Museum. Notice the huge structure above it - the <a href="http://www.bergbaumuseum.de/index.php/en/exhibition/headframe">headframe</a>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Today I went to another museum, this time in Bochum itself - the <a href="http://www.bergbaumuseum.de/index.php/en/">Deutsches Bergbau Museum</a> (the German Mining Museum). We went down the "Visitor Mine," which simulates a real mine, but was built to show mining technology from various eras. Since it's a Sunday, there was no guided tour, and we just wandered around by ourselves, not understanding most of what we were seeing. (To be honest, I'm not sure that going on a guided tour would have added much to my knowledge - there were a couple of places where we listened to recorded explanations of what we were looking at, but they were often too technical for me to understand). It was a rather strange, claustrophobic experience. The museum's website has an explanation of the various machines in the mine, for the technically minded: <a href="http://www.bergbaumuseum.de/index.php/en/exhibition/visitor-mine">the Visitor Mine</a>. The visitor mine is about 20 meters down, while a real mine would be much deeper - they have installed a simulation of a pit cage that goes down 1200 meters, which we went on.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6MQFVv7R10/VMUgEbI91TI/AAAAAAAAOg0/3VwAXZoWuLA/s1600/20150125_155457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6MQFVv7R10/VMUgEbI91TI/AAAAAAAAOg0/3VwAXZoWuLA/s1600/20150125_155457.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.bergbaumuseum.de/index.php/en/about-us/history">history of the museum</a> itself is interesting. It wasn't built on the site of an old mine, but of an old slaughterhouse. It was founded in 1930.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The appearance of the museum today is largely shaped by the new, prestigious museum building based on plans by the renowned industrial architect Fritz Schupp. The decision to build was made in 1935. To give visitors as realistic an impression as possible of working life underground, the construction of a visitor mine was planned right from the start. At the end of June 1937 a shaft was sunk so that the first gallery could be excavated. In 1940, 600 metres of galleries and cross-cuts had already been excavated in the visitor mine, around 17 metres under the ground, and most of this had been fitted with permanent supports.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Before it was fully completed, the museum building was badly damaged by Allied air raids, and in 1943 the museum had to be closed because of the war. The few remaining members of staff moved valuable items from the collection to safe places, and converted the visitor mine into an air-raid shelter. This became the most heavily-used air-raid shelter in Bochum, with between 580 and 760 people per day seeking refuge here in 1945.</blockquote>After the war, the building was cleaned up, and eventually greatly expanded. We mostly went to the underground mine and then wandered around the other exhibits. There's something we didn't see, which I think would be interesting - the "<a href="http://www.bergbaumuseum.de/index.php/en/exhibition/permanent-exhibition/art-and-culture-in-mining">treasure chamber</a>" of objects made of mined materials, as well as an exhibit about the cult of St. Barbara, who is apparently the patron saint of miners. Inside the Visitor Mine we saw a couple of small statues of her.<br /><br />Some photos of old mining machinery.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDAg53UECUM/VMUgDXgRb_I/AAAAAAAAOgo/CpY66fa3iKE/s1600/20150125_154216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDAg53UECUM/VMUgDXgRb_I/AAAAAAAAOgo/CpY66fa3iKE/s1600/20150125_154216.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q3lM75hOIU/VMUgHlLXUdI/AAAAAAAAOhY/keM0IE5ZnVg/s1600/20150125_160521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q3lM75hOIU/VMUgHlLXUdI/AAAAAAAAOhY/keM0IE5ZnVg/s1600/20150125_160521.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ADbztr0UxRU/VMUgGv-YkII/AAAAAAAAOhM/BVB5XL8fshA/s1600/20150125_160500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ADbztr0UxRU/VMUgGv-YkII/AAAAAAAAOhM/BVB5XL8fshA/s1600/20150125_160500.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljgIPLWfnzI/VMUgFr8NnRI/AAAAAAAAOhA/E2y_jwZGq4o/s1600/20150125_155755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljgIPLWfnzI/VMUgFr8NnRI/AAAAAAAAOhA/E2y_jwZGq4o/s1600/20150125_155755.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-18851708111532514392015-01-18T23:51:00.000+01:002015-01-18T23:51:03.026+01:00Roman-German Museum in Köln, January 18, 2015<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/105918466511792268499/albums/6105802187464362593">Roman-German Museum in Köln, January 18, 2015</a><br /><br />Today I went to Cologne and visited the Römisch-Germanisches Museum there. Cologne was a Roman city and many artifacts have been found from that era. (These are only a few of the photos - click on the link to see the whole set).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LiSqbinE6SI/VLvI7Hg2lXI/AAAAAAAAOYk/r6CSbKyD9fc/s1600/20150118_134114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LiSqbinE6SI/VLvI7Hg2lXI/AAAAAAAAOYk/r6CSbKyD9fc/s1600/20150118_134114.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a>There were two very nice mosaic floors, one on the floor of a Roman villa. It was exposed in the early years of WWII when the authorities were building air raid shelters. It's called the Dionysus mosaic because of the mythological figures depicted, but what I really liked were the animals.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kLj49XppQm8/VLvHVO1MvUI/AAAAAAAAObk/ha7tH2-n1PI/s1600/20150118_134154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kLj49XppQm8/VLvHVO1MvUI/AAAAAAAAObk/ha7tH2-n1PI/s1600/20150118_134154.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lGSgDWMoD08/VLvHWb4U7wI/AAAAAAAAOP8/zMl2Vmx2kRU/s1600/20150118_134205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lGSgDWMoD08/VLvHWb4U7wI/AAAAAAAAOP8/zMl2Vmx2kRU/s1600/20150118_134205.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y9s4M2fJlPI/VLvIXopkuFI/AAAAAAAAOVY/Hcu-oOWN4yU/s1600/20150118_144434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y9s4M2fJlPI/VLvIXopkuFI/AAAAAAAAOVY/Hcu-oOWN4yU/s1600/20150118_144434.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another mosaic floor is called the "Philosopher's Mosaic" because it depicts several ancient Greek philosophers.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FyaZfu6ub7o/VLvIaDpMaZI/AAAAAAAAOZU/iVXK4z-Y6o4/s1600/20150118_144550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FyaZfu6ub7o/VLvIaDpMaZI/AAAAAAAAOZU/iVXK4z-Y6o4/s1600/20150118_144550.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Plato.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-do1xriaNq34/VLvIbAhh9aI/AAAAAAAAOdQ/YifCfhaJ5Zw/s1600/20150118_144623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-do1xriaNq34/VLvIbAhh9aI/AAAAAAAAOdQ/YifCfhaJ5Zw/s1600/20150118_144623.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aristotle<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9bQWWGxQ9Y/VLvIc8E6hvI/AAAAAAAAOaA/_PcdOc3mblM/s1600/20150118_144742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9bQWWGxQ9Y/VLvIc8E6hvI/AAAAAAAAOaA/_PcdOc3mblM/s1600/20150118_144742.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">And this is Socrates.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's another mosaic floor, called a "lithostroton."&nbsp;</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyrgYOJJ0lI/VLvHkOOCpmI/AAAAAAAAOc0/A_B41GKgAKk/s1600/20150118_141539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyrgYOJJ0lI/VLvHkOOCpmI/AAAAAAAAOc0/A_B41GKgAKk/s1600/20150118_141539.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div><br />Another example of the same style.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qShTMkHVn_Q/VLvHpULRH7I/AAAAAAAAOSk/PwFWPyHzPTw/s1600/20150118_141632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qShTMkHVn_Q/VLvHpULRH7I/AAAAAAAAOSk/PwFWPyHzPTw/s1600/20150118_141632.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ch_ALMxRZ6M/VLvIgwX57dI/AAAAAAAAOWg/T8yOK_W63xE/s1600/20150118_145058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ch_ALMxRZ6M/VLvIgwX57dI/AAAAAAAAOWg/T8yOK_W63xE/s1600/20150118_145058.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Another mosaic, partially restored, of the gladitorial games.</td></tr></tbody></table>These ladies below are Germanic mother goddesses. The Latin inscription reads: "For the Matrones Afliae. Marcus Marius Marcellus established the altar for himself and his family on the order of the Matrons."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v_JiqnnCZJo/VLvICIczrJI/AAAAAAAAOTU/KBJkdwWScqE/s1600/20150118_142430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v_JiqnnCZJo/VLvICIczrJI/AAAAAAAAOTU/KBJkdwWScqE/s1600/20150118_142430.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FhJ_-Uz_mHc/VLvH5dYFrjI/AAAAAAAAOS8/makcuajLWFc/s1600/20150118_141943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FhJ_-Uz_mHc/VLvH5dYFrjI/AAAAAAAAOS8/makcuajLWFc/s1600/20150118_141943.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a gravestone for the cavalryman Longinus. The inscription, not shown here, says <br />"Longinus Biarta, son of Bisa, from the tribe of the Bessus, cavalryman<br />&nbsp;in the (regiment) of Ala Sulpicia (in Bulgaria). Died at age 46 years."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P13yFUZ9vng/VLvIJtRn7_I/AAAAAAAAOTs/duobVPnWgyk/s1600/20150118_142603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P13yFUZ9vng/VLvIJtRn7_I/AAAAAAAAOTs/duobVPnWgyk/s1600/20150118_142603.jpg" height="640" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another dedicatory inscription: "For the goddess Vagdavercustis, <br />Titus Flavius Constans, Commander of the Imperial Guard."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cgl8wUuHaKY/VLvIVUx3jsI/AAAAAAAAOU8/yBwW1T7JxqI/s1600/20150118_143918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cgl8wUuHaKY/VLvIVUx3jsI/AAAAAAAAOU8/yBwW1T7JxqI/s1600/20150118_143918.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Depiction of a river god, perhaps of the Rhine.</td></tr></tbody></table>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-61710687905620806872015-01-11T19:37:00.000+01:002015-01-11T19:51:10.892+01:00On Charlie Hebdo, Islamophobia, and Racism<div class="tr_bq">One response to the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people has been to attack Charlie Hebdo itself as racist or Islamophobic. I've seen articles that have condemned the murders, of course, but then have gone on to argue that the newspaper should not be held up as any paragon of virtue because the cartoons it printed were anti-Muslim and racist. (Interestingly enough, the people who make these criticisms never seem to accuse Charlie Hebdo of being antisemitic - even though the newspaper did print cartoons that mock Judaism as well as the Pope and Muhammad). As I've said before, I don't think that cartoons that mock religion or religious figures (like Moses) should be seen as antisemitic, racist, or anti-Muslim (unless, of course, they go beyond the mockery of religion and attack Jews, Muslims, people of African descent, etc.).</div><br />Joe Sacco, in the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2015/jan/09/joe-sacco-on-satire-a-response-to-the-attacks">Guardian</a>, posted a cartoon that was very critical of Charlie Hebdo, essentially accusing the newspaper of printing racist cartoons and engaging in a double standard. (I've provided small version of his cartoon below). &nbsp;He seems to consider the cartoons that were aimed at Muslim religious figures (like Muhammad) as being equivalent to two racist caricatures that he himself drew - one of a Black man falling out of a tree with a banana, the other of the stereotypical Jew counting money. In between those two panels, he wrote about a cartoonist that Charlie Hebdo had fired because he had written an antisemitic column. This, to me, signals his confusion - he conflates mockery of religious ideas and holy figures with attacks on Jews or Muslims. I don't feel attacked by cartoons that mock Judaism (even if I don't like them) - I do feel attacked by cartoons that attack Jews.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gChMrlFfERE/VLK4nLusflI/AAAAAAAAOIo/pAEcED-Lia8/s1600/joesaccoonsatire1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gChMrlFfERE/VLK4nLusflI/AAAAAAAAOIo/pAEcED-Lia8/s1600/joesaccoonsatire1200.jpg" height="200" width="137" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>And why is the third to last panel a "gratuitous drawing of a true believer doing God's work in the desert"? It's not so gratuitous, since Da'esh terrorists have in fact cruelly decapitated people in the desert. Then, in the next panel, Sacco lumps all Muslims together as having one opinion - "And what is it about Muslims in this time and place that makes them unable to laugh off a mere image?" - illustrated with a drawing of one of the victims of American cruelty at Abu Ghraib. It's simply not true to assume that all Muslims had the same reaction to the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. And even for those who felt insulted by the cartoons, how many decided first to firebomb the Charlie Hebdo office and then to murder the people who worked there? I don't know if the police ever found the person who threw the firebomb at the office in 2011, but it was only two men who perpetrated the murders last Wednesday. And Sacco's last panel assumes that those who disagree with him (which would include me) think that there is something "deeply wrong" with all Muslims and that we want to "drive them from their homes and into the sea."<br /><br />That is certainly not true of me. What Sacco avoids dealing with entirely in this cartoon, and what I think is very important to think about, is the ideology that motivated the two murderers - that espoused by Al Qaeda and Da'esh. One of the two brothers who killed the people at the Charlie Hebdo office had gone to Yemen and trained at an Al Qaeda training camp there. Sacco blames the murders of the cartoonists, ultimately, on the West - the US invasion of Iraq, symbolized by the drawing of a prisoner at Abu Ghraib. Why doesn't he blame the people who actually committed the murders and ask what about their ideology convinced them that this was the right thing to do?<br /><br />For another critical view of Sacco's cartoon, see the article in Harry's Place, <a href="http://hurryupharry.org/2015/01/11/a-response-to-joe-sacco/">A Response to Joe Sacco</a>.<br /><br />A critical article on Charlie Hebdo's secularism (<em style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">laïcité</span></em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">), by&nbsp;</span></span><span style="line-height: 23.2000007629395px;"><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/charlie-hebdo-secularism-religion-islam/384413/">Scott Sayare</a> in The Atlantic.</span><br /><br />"On Charlie Hebdo: A letter to my British friends," by <a href="http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/olivier-tonneau">Oliver Tonneau</a> in his blog for Mediapart.fr provides more context for the politics of Charlie Hebdo. Here is an excerpt - it's worth reading the whole thing.<br /><blockquote>Three days ago, a horrid assault was perpetrated against the French weekly Charlie Hebdo, who had published caricatures of Mohamed, by men who screamed that they had “avenged the prophet”. A wave of compassion followed but apparently died shortly afterward and all sorts of criticism started pouring down the web against Charlie Hebdo, who was described as islamophobic, racist and even sexist. Countless other comments stated that Muslims were being ostracized and finger-pointed. In the background lurked a view of France founded upon the “myth” of <i>laicité</i>, defined as the strict restriction of religion to the private sphere, but rampantly islamophobic - with passing reference to the law banning the integral veil. One friend even mentioned a division of the French left on a presumed “Muslim question”.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>As a Frenchman and a radical left militant at home and here in UK, I was puzzled and even shocked by these comments and would like, therefore, to give you a clear exposition of what my left-wing French position is on these matters.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Firstly, a few words on Charlie Hebdo, which was often “analyzed” in the British press on the sole basis, apparently, of a few selected cartoons. It might be worth knowing that the main target of Charlie Hebdo was the Front National and the Le Pen family. Next came crooks of all sorts, including bosses and politicians (incidentally, one of the victims of the bombing was an economist who ran a weekly column on the disasters caused by austerity policies in Greece). &nbsp;Finally, Charlie Hebdo was an opponent of all forms of organized religions, in the old-school anarchist sense: Ni Dieu, ni maître! They ridiculed the pope, orthodox Jews and Muslims in equal measure and with the same biting tone. They took ferocious stances against the bombings of Gaza. Even if their sense of humour was apparently inacceptable to English minds, please take my word for it: it fell well within the French tradition of satire – and after all was only intended for a French audience. It is only by reading or seeing it out of context that some cartoons appear as racist or islamophobic. Charlie Hebdo also continuously denounced the pledge of minorities and campaigned relentlessly for all illegal immigrants to be given permanent right of stay. I hope this helps you understand that if you belong to the radical left, you have lost precious friends and allies.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Read the rest at&nbsp;<a href="http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/olivier-tonneau">Letter to My British Friends</a></blockquote><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-68318400037252400082015-01-11T17:06:00.003+01:002015-01-11T17:06:36.982+01:00Unity march in Paris todayI'm watching the massive march in Paris today on the BBC online, and I wish I had just gotten on the train this morning and joined it! Here are some screen grabs that I took:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MwaIM2Yxow8/VLKb4rIHOAI/AAAAAAAAOFs/yvX9tsd9pzE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.35.43%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MwaIM2Yxow8/VLKb4rIHOAI/AAAAAAAAOFs/yvX9tsd9pzE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.35.43%2BPM.png" height="322" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BBC reporter speaking with a woman from Gabon (holding the newspaper), who spoke about repression in her country.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MAew84inzPA/VLKb4sH6ARI/AAAAAAAAOFU/UF35T47ApYc/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.36.42%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MAew84inzPA/VLKb4sH6ARI/AAAAAAAAOFU/UF35T47ApYc/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.36.42%2BPM.png" height="350" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Journalists from Gabon who have been suppressed by the Gabonese government.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q03f_D1-b1M/VLKb5F7D0GI/AAAAAAAAOFg/eD6VNowHUU0/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.37.39%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q03f_D1-b1M/VLKb5F7D0GI/AAAAAAAAOFg/eD6VNowHUU0/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.37.39%2BPM.png" height="540" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQNQMg1BZOo/VLKb5p6k2fI/AAAAAAAAOFo/mxVe9ny6jSQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.37.49%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQNQMg1BZOo/VLKb5p6k2fI/AAAAAAAAOFo/mxVe9ny6jSQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.37.49%2BPM.png" height="288" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Police in mourning"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgOQ6Lgw27o/VLKcB51LnEI/AAAAAAAAOIE/fK7dWTvbGS4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.38.25%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zgOQ6Lgw27o/VLKcB51LnEI/AAAAAAAAOIE/fK7dWTvbGS4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.38.25%2BPM.png" height="506" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A French rabbi speaking about his community.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5DNL4xDctX4/VLKb7RKOoqI/AAAAAAAAOGA/CRXOR5cea5g/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.39.31%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5DNL4xDctX4/VLKb7RKOoqI/AAAAAAAAOGA/CRXOR5cea5g/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.39.31%2BPM.png" height="458" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I am Charlie"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UVAgy5PUw9E/VLKb7wq39zI/AAAAAAAAOGQ/HoB-Pks1Oi4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.40.07%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UVAgy5PUw9E/VLKb7wq39zI/AAAAAAAAOGQ/HoB-Pks1Oi4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.40.07%2BPM.png" height="290" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NDek-ra7n1Q/VLKb8R5tHZI/AAAAAAAAOGU/rk5IWMh1p4I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.40.18%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NDek-ra7n1Q/VLKb8R5tHZI/AAAAAAAAOGU/rk5IWMh1p4I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.40.18%2BPM.png" height="290" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YBelA4aSbXs/VLKb8_fg4cI/AAAAAAAAOGc/-tD52WgsyeE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.40.30%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YBelA4aSbXs/VLKb8_fg4cI/AAAAAAAAOGc/-tD52WgsyeE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.40.30%2BPM.png" height="326" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tgy8l3vliOE/VLKb9J71TxI/AAAAAAAAOGg/qxA82dCgoLQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.41.05%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tgy8l3vliOE/VLKb9J71TxI/AAAAAAAAOGg/qxA82dCgoLQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.41.05%2BPM.png" height="288" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A woman with English/American parents who now lives in Paris, whose husband was in Boston during the terrorist attack on Patriot's Day.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oI-rsWU_q1s/VLKb-3zbSRI/AAAAAAAAOHE/VqPSjbyJak8/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.43.56%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oI-rsWU_q1s/VLKb-3zbSRI/AAAAAAAAOHE/VqPSjbyJak8/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.43.56%2BPM.png" height="314" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_66r3XiuCOE/VLKb_OwbjpI/AAAAAAAAOG8/LX5xgPzoWuA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.44.06%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_66r3XiuCOE/VLKb_OwbjpI/AAAAAAAAOG8/LX5xgPzoWuA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.44.06%2BPM.png" height="314" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivvjuXa_dQU/VLKcAtnbFGI/AAAAAAAAOHQ/UtSIjUSVt9I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.45.01%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivvjuXa_dQU/VLKcAtnbFGI/AAAAAAAAOHQ/UtSIjUSVt9I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.45.01%2BPM.png" height="640" width="624" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dBVmyltbMcw/VLKcBOEHnNI/AAAAAAAAOHY/OrWYD19hKEQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.45.11%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dBVmyltbMcw/VLKcBOEHnNI/AAAAAAAAOHY/OrWYD19hKEQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.45.11%2BPM.png" height="438" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjW6nTu1W_g/VLKcBUQYS5I/AAAAAAAAOHc/a9c4gD4SWuk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.45.37%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjW6nTu1W_g/VLKcBUQYS5I/AAAAAAAAOHc/a9c4gD4SWuk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-11%2Bat%2B4.45.37%2BPM.png" height="302" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The BBC reporters are saying that there are more than a million people on the streets of Paris today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-82179636717287964872015-01-10T02:05:00.002+01:002015-01-10T02:05:33.914+01:00Good night and sweet dreams<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">bonne nuit, mes amis. Fais de beaux rêves. <a href="http://t.co/ZfjTl9KbKt">pic.twitter.com/ZfjTl9KbKt</a><br />— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/553716970387156992">January 10, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448657.post-44611505438894316092015-01-10T01:40:00.004+01:002015-01-10T01:40:54.969+01:00Jerusalem snowfall, January 9, 2015And finally, because it's always good to post photos of Jerusalem in the snow (from a friend in the city).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ad2a-p8KPg/VLB03fLwzBI/AAAAAAAAOEs/xcjjlpE1qO8/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ad2a-p8KPg/VLB03fLwzBI/AAAAAAAAOEs/xcjjlpE1qO8/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B1.jpg" height="359" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p3ryMegsdes/VLB03d1hbcI/AAAAAAAAOFA/vKi35EuEWKY/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p3ryMegsdes/VLB03d1hbcI/AAAAAAAAOFA/vKi35EuEWKY/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B2.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eV3rfJCxQS4/VLB03FX4k3I/AAAAAAAAOEo/vW9UCCwSzpA/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eV3rfJCxQS4/VLB03FX4k3I/AAAAAAAAOEo/vW9UCCwSzpA/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B3.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jWWGgx1jXbA/VLB039TB1FI/AAAAAAAAOEw/FZzqDqoAhtg/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jWWGgx1jXbA/VLB039TB1FI/AAAAAAAAOEw/FZzqDqoAhtg/s1600/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D%2B%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%92%2B%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8%2B2015%2B9.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17626228106192215280noreply@blogger.com0